Bishop said he hopes to have some numbers for the board's Feb. 24 meeting about what the urban development credits might be. "We may have water gained to the water bank," he said. "We just don't know how much."

Bishop added that the $3,500 per a-f cost of river augmentation water means it's time to take a serious look at projects such as the NRD's proposed reservoir northwest of Elm Creek.

He said preliminary estimates are that water held in the reservoir and released to the Platte River would cost $40 to $70 per a-f per year. Over 50 years, that could be as little as $2,000 per a-f.

"We're paying farmers to dry up irrigated land (in Dawson and western Buffalo counties) at $2,500 and now $3,500. … Honestly, I think we need to take a hard look at Elm Creek," Bishop said.

Key issues include possible interest in the project by the three-state Platte River Recovery Implementation Program and the state, and whether proposed legislation is successful in putting money into Nebraska's Water Resources Cash Fund to help pay for water projects.