PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The panel that oversees water permits in South Dakota has removed the caps it had on the James River.
The state Water Management Board made the decision on Wednesday.
The James River had been under restrictions since 1965.
A report submitted to the board found that the river has seen increasing stream flows since flooding during the 1990s.
“I think this is an excellent move. I think the water situation is different than in 1965,” board member Rodney Freeman of Huron said.
The board then approved 14 applications from irrigators who have been waiting for permission to draw water from the James River to spray on their crop fields.
The 1965 limits were:
No more than 300 cubic feet per second could be diverted above the border between Yankton County and Hutchinson County; and
No more than 200 cubic feet per second could be diverted between the North Dakota-South Dakota border and the USGS gaging station at Huron in Beadle County.
As part of lifting those limits, however, the board on Wednesday agreed to reviewing the river’s use every five years.
“This is not the end-all be-all,” board chair Jim Hutmacher of Oacoma said.
The board on Wednesday also set other new parameters:
Regarding applications approved on the reach between the North Dakota border and the USGS gaging station at Ashton, located in Spink County, there can be no diversions any time when there is less than 50 cfs bypassing the gage after pumping; and there can be no diversions after July 15 when there is less than 100 cfs bypassing the Ashton gage after pumping unless authorized in writing by the South Dakota chief water engineer.
For applications approved for the stretch between the Ashton gaging station and the Huron gaging station, there can be no diversions any time when there is less than 50 cfs bypassing the Huron gage after pumping; and there can be no diversions after July 15 when there is less than cfs flowing past the Huron gage after pumping unless authorized in writing by the chief engineer.
For applications approved for the stretch between the Huron gaging station and the Scotland-area gaging station, there can be no diversions any time when there is less than 50 cfs bypassing the Scotland station after pumping.
For applications approved between the North Dakota border and the Yankton-Hutchinson border, no water can be diverted after August 10 without written authorization from the chief engineer.
And, diversions under an approved permit are subject to senior water rights and any written orders from the chief engineer; are subject to the annual irrigation questionnaire; and the Water Management Board retains jurisdiction if additional information shows changes need to be made to protect domestic uses or senior water rights.
The board accepted a November 21 final report from the state water rights program that reached four conclusions:
There is unappropriated water available in the James River between spring and August 10 during normal years.
That determination was based on flows naturally occurring in the James River.
The James River is an unreliable source of water during dry times and the increasing stream flows might not continue into the future.
And there is a reasonable probability that unappropriated water in the James River is available to allow additional appropriations beyond the 300 cfs and 200 cfs thresholds.
The report said there were 116 water rights and permits and two future-use permits appropriating or reserving 298.92 cfs of the 300 cfs threshold for the river overall, with 77 appropriating 199.19 cfs in the reach with the 200 cfs threshold.
The 14 approved Wednesday add to those totals. Jim or Collin Klebsch received approvals for eight permits totaling 18.03 cfs to irrigate crops, while Nick or Scott Bebo received approvals for six permits totaling 16.35 cfs to irrigate crops. Both permits are for fields northeast of Redfield in Spink County.
