NORFOLK, Nebraska -- At the Dec. 18, 2025, board meeting, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (NRD) directors set the 2026 water-use amounts for irrigation wells in the quantity management subareas. The 2026 water-use allocation amounts for these areas will remain unchanged from their creation in 2013:

Eastern Madison County Quantity Management Subarea

• Gravity/Flood Irrigation – 18 Acre Inches/Acre
• Subsurface Drip Irrigation – 13 Acre Inches/Acre
• All other systems (center pivots) – 14 Acre Inches/Acre

Wayne County Quantity Management Subarea

• Gravity/Flood Irrigation – 17 Acre Inches/Acre
• Subsurface Drip Irrigation – 12 Acre Inches/Acre
• All other systems (center pivots) – 13 Acre Inches/Acre

Directors also heard and accepted the Fiscal Year 2025 Audit Report from Donita Pokorny with Dana F. Cole. They also accepted the low bid of $6,161.42 for two new 80-gallon water heaters in the shower house at Maple Creek Recreation Area. Hamernik Plumbing and Well Drilling out of Leigh will be hired for the project.

To learn more about the 12 responsibilities of Nebraska’s NRDs and how your local district can work with you and your community to protect your natural resources, visit www.lenrd.org and sign up for our monthly emails. The next board of directors meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at the Lower Elkhorn NRD office in Norfolk at 7:30 p.m. and on Facebook Live.