Blue River Basin

The Blue River Basin covers approximately 9,690 square miles in southeast Nebraska and northeast Kansas. Excessive fecal coliform and atrazine are major water quality problems within the basin. Because of lengthy and costly litigation between Nebraska and Kansas in regards to the Republican River, both states have a desire to avert future litigation, and to foster opportunities for communities within the Blue River Basin to take their own steps toward protecting their water. The Blue River Basin Source Water Management Assistance project consists of seminars and workshops, as well as specialized assistance to communities who participate.

The Blue River Basin Source Water Management Assistance project concluded in 2006. During which, The Groundwater Foundation held  basin-wide and regional seminars and community workshops, in cooperation with local partners. Basin-wide seminars focused on the protection of local water supplies and how this relates to human health and economic well-being of communities. Regional seminars helped citizens become familiar with the water quality facts and issues of that particular region. During the basin-wide and regional seminars, the Foundation solicited requests from community representatives who would like to learn more about the source water facts and issues relevant to their particular community – and then held community workshops in their communities.  Community workshops involved activities such as review of source water assessments, discussion of water quality issues, and protection strategies.

This project was funded in part by a Clean Water Act Section 319 grant from US EPA through the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has provided financial assistance to this project through EPA Grant #FS997516-97. Additional support was provided by the Nebraska Environmental Trust.