Stay Placed on Well Drilling in Poor Aquifer Areas

Action was taken by the Board of Directors that placed a “stay” on the drilling of high-capacity irrigation wells in the “Aquifers Less Than 10 Feet” areas of the District. The Little Blue NRD Board has placed a “stay” on the drilling of high-capacity irrigation wells in the geographic area of the District which was identified in the 2011 Hydrogeologic Study as “Aquifers Less Than 10 Feet” of thickness. The Board recognizes that these areas of the District have a more fragile and unreliable aquifer. This rule was enacted to reduce conflicts between water uses and protect limited water supplies, particularly for domestic uses where alternate water supplies are not readily available. The Board also clarified that this prohibition for new highcapacity irrigation wells applies to the geographic area and all potential water baring formations that extends below the land surface of the designated area. The stay covers approximately 362,240 acres of land shown by the light brown shaded sections on the map below. The stay is in addition to the 124,160 acres that were place in a permanent stay on March 17, 2006 in an area of Jefferson and Thayer Counties known as “Unit 8”. In Unit 8, the expansion of irrigated acres is also prohibited. The stay is limited to irrigation development and the Board reserved the ability to permit wells for other purposes, such as municipal wells, if necessary.

Detailed Risk Map (East)