Water Management

Well Permits & Registration

Well Drilling

If you are planning to drill a new well within the Lower Platte North NRD you need to obtain the proper permits. A well permit from the NRD is needed prior to the construction of all new and replacement wells, except for:

Well Permit Form

A printable copy of the permit application is available in PDF format here.

If you would rather have the permit form mailed to you, call the NRD at (402) 443-4675. The NRD permit fee is $50 and should be submitted with your application. If construction of a water well (other than those types that are exempt) commences prior to obtaining an approved permit, a late permit must be completed with a $250 fee.

Flow Measurement Requirement

For all new water uses, owners are required to report the total water pumped from the well each year. This does not apply to replacement wells. Water use can be tracked by installing an NRD-approved flow meter or a time totalizer such as an hour meter. The well owner needs to report the total water pumped during the calendar year to the NRD by January 31 of the following year. For more information on flow measurement requirements contact Leah Barkley or Russell Oaklund. 

Other Permits

Other county or city permits may be needed if you are within city limits or areas with zoning restrictions, so please check with your local county and/or city agencies. Special permits may also be required from the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) if the location does not meet spacing requirements in relation to existing wells or for distance from streams.

Well Registration

Obtaining an NRD well permit does not register the well with the Department of Natural Resources. All wells are required by state statute to be registered with DNR after construction. To download a well registration form, visit the DNR website.

LB962

LB962, passed in 2004, was a major overhaul to Nebraska water law. Under LB962 provisions, a basin’s surface water and groundwater are both taken into account when deciding whether the water supply can sustain further development for irrigation and other high-volume water uses. The number and capacity of wells and their effect on surface water rights are used to determine when a basin is “fully-appropriated” (at the maximum level of sustainable development) or “over-appropriated” (water levels in decline due to over-development). If a basin is fully-appropriated, new well drilling may be prohibited. DNR reviews river basins each year to determine their status.

The Lower Platte North NRD is not currently fully-appropriated, but that could change in the future. Well owners are encouraged to download a memo (PDF format) with the most current information and recommendations. This memo is also mailed out with all new well permit applications.

More Information

For more information about well permits or registration, please contact Leah Barkley, Water Resources Specialist.