From the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources via The McCook Gazette:
The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources has determined that 2017 is a “Compact Call Year.”
On Dec. 31, 2016, DNR director Gordon W. Fassett made the announcement that this year is a “call year” according to provisions of and resolutions regarding the 1942 Republican River Compact between Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado.
Nebraska will now have to comply with terms of the Compact’s 2016 resolution, including providing Kansas with the ability to either call for delivery of its share of Republican River water as needed (from water storage in Harlan County Lake), or leave it in ground and available to Kansas water users at some future time when it’s needed more.
The resolution signed by the three states in August 2016 provides Kansas water users much more certainty that there will be a viable irrigation supply in dry periods. Nebraska will receive full credit in Compact accounting for its compliance activities, including its augmentation deliveries, provided that the water generated by its activities (“Compliance Water”) is delivered to Harlan County Reservoir in Nebraska for Kansas water users’ use.
During Compact Call Years, the Nebraska DNR regulates and administers surface water in the Republican River basin upstream of the Guide Rock Diversion Dam to ensure Nebraska’s compliance with the Compact, issuing the necessary closing notices on natural flow and storage permits in the basin until such time as DNR and river basin Natural Resources District determine that administration is no longer needed to ensure Compact compliance.
The Republican River Compact, signed Dec. 31, 1942, entitles Nebraska to 49 percent of the river’s water, while Kansas receives 40 percent and Colorado gets 11 percent. The Republican River originates in Colorado, crosses the northwestern tip of Kansas into Nebraska, then runs through Nebraska before re-entering Kansas in its northeastern corner.
The official document is here.