Big Blue River Compact

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2026 BBRC Meeting

The 2026 Meeting of the Kansas-Nebraska Big Blue River Compact (BBRC) Administration was held on May 6, 2026 at the Homestead Education Center in the Homestead National Historical Park near Beatrice, NE. The meeting was open to the public. Anyone interested in water-related activities within the Big Blue and Little Blue River basins is encouraged to attend the annual meetings.

For more information about recent and historical activities of the BBRC Administration, review the meeting reports provided in the 2026 BBRC Meeting Reports table below, as well as the Compact details and past Annual Reports provided at the bottom of the page.

For further information about the meetings and activities of the BBRC Administration, please contact Lizzie Hickman at (785) 564-6679 or Elizabeth.Hickman@ks.gov.

2026 BBRC Meeting Reports

Description	Document Date	Provided By
KS Commissioner's Report	05/05/2026	KDA
Topeka Field Office Report	05/05/2026	KDA
NE Commissioner's Report	05/05/2026	DWEE
NE Water Administration Report	05/07/2026	DWEE
Lower Big Blue NRD Report	05/06/2026	LBBNRD
Upper Big Blue NRD Report	05/06/2026	UBBNRD
Little Blue NRD Report	05/07/2026	LBNRD
Treasurer's Report (FY26) and Budget (FY27)	05/05/2026	DWEE
USGS Report (WY 2025)	05/06/2026	USGS
NE Water Quality Report	05/05/2026	DWEE
KS Water Quality Report	05/07/2026	KDHE

Big Blue River Compact

The Kansas-Nebraska Big Blue River Compact was entered into in 1971. The purpose of the Compact is to promote interstate comity, achieve equitable apportionment of the waters of the Big Blue River Basin and promote the orderly development thereof, and to encourage an active pollution abatement program in each state.

The Compact Administration is composed of a federally appointed Compact Chairman, currently W. Don Nelson of Nebraska; two state appointed commissioners, Earl Lewis of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, and Matt Manning of the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment; and two citizen advisors, Hannah Birge of Kansas and Jason Pohlmann of Nebraska.

The Compact provides for minimum target flows to reach the Kansas state line on both the Big Blue and Little Blue Rivers, as measured by river gages at Barneston, NE on the Big Blue River and Hollenberg, KS on the Little Blue River from May through September. When streamflow falls below these target values, Nebraska is required to administer surface water rights and associated alluvial groundwater use junior to 1968 within the regulatory reaches of either river until the target value is exceeded.

The Compact sets forth the following streamflow targets: