Nebraska, Platte River facing worst drought in a decade

By Web staff

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    NEBRASKA (KETV) — New video shows the extent of the drought on the Platte River.

The National Drought Center says the river is almost entirely dry downstream of Kearney.

Jeremy Gehle, the division head of water planning at the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, briefed KETV on the situation.

“100 % of the state of Nebraska is in some form of drought, and a good portion of it is in the most severe category of drought. And a lot of that focus is out West,” Gehle said.

He says that the last time Nebraska saw a drought of this nature was 2012, and with that, bad news for farmers.

“The drought we’re experiencing has a lot of negative effects with crop yields,” he said.

Platte River local David Lastovica shares the sentiment.

“I mean, I feel horrible for the farmers. I mean, if you don’t have an irrigated crop, I drive around the country, and the gravel roads and they’re all burned up,” Lastovica said.

As someone who lives and fishes on the river, he says this drought is different.

“And I’ve been out at my cabin since I was 12 weeks old, and I’m 58 and never seen it like this,” he said.

Gehle says that this fall, things could get better.

“Probably by mid-November, there’s a fair chance we start seeing the rivers return to a somewhat more normal state, we hope.”

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