Lawyers, consultants guaranteed winners in Republican River dispute

YOU may talk o' gin an' beer
When you're quartered safe out 'ere,
An' you're sent to penny-fights an' Aldershot it;
But if it comes to slaughter
You will do your work on water,
An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it.

Water is the central issue in courtroom battles over the Republican River Compact, and while Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas seem to be on the path to resolving their conflict, about 150 farmers under the Frenchman Cambridge Irrigation District want to be compensated for water the state ordered to be released in 2013-14 to send downstream to Kansas.

Regardless of who "wins" the Republican River Compact dispute, there are two groups that are sure to benefit: Lawyers and consultants.

The 1943 compact entitles Nebraska to 49 percent of the river's water, while Kansas receives 40 percent and Colorado 11 percent. The river starts in Colorado, crosses the northwest tip of Kansas, enters Nebraska and then flows on to Kansas.

The Nebraska attorney general's office wants another $1.2 million to defend the state against the farmers' class-action lawsuit, and to hire consultants for the ongoing settlement negotiations with Kansas.

Republican River litigation has cost the state nearly $4 million over the last seven years, and the Frenchman Cambridge farmers are seeking $219 million in damages for the lost water.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Nebraska to pay Kansas $5.5 million for using more water than the state was entitled to, but Kansas was previously seeking $80 million.

Ideally, the Republican River Compact would be renegotiated to take modern irrigation and conservation efforts into account. When it was signed in 1943, center-pivots and NRD programs to limit erosion and conserve water were far in the future.

Barring that, however, let's hope a final settlement can be reached to distribute the water fairly and keep states and farmers out of court.