In The Loup: Flow Meter Program Funded for Third Year

The Lower Loup Natural Resources District (LLNRD) will receive an additional $25,000 from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for the “Integrated Management Date Acquisition Program.” The Trust Board announced funding for the project at its meeting on April 8, 2021.

This is the third and final year of the award. The trust grant will be used to install flow meters across the District. The NRD administers a cost-share program that will combine Trust funds with matching funds from the LLNRD to pay 75% of the cost of flow meters to accurately record water use.

Flow meters are a management tool that aids producers in supplying the right amount of water at the correct time to their growing crops. As inputs such as fertilizer continue to increase in price, it is important to not overwater and drive those critical nutrients past the active root zone.

In areas with high groundwater nitrates, irrigators can use well-pumping numbers to determine how much nitrogen credit they can capitalize on each time they irrigate.

The Nebraska Legislature created the Environmental Trust in 1992, providing over $349 million in grants to over 2,400 projects in the state. Contact Jason Moudry for program details at (308) 728-3221.

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