LINCOLN, Nebraska – On April 20, the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (LPSNRD) Board of Directors approved cost-share funding to help the Village of Davey take an extra precautionary step in decommissioning one of its wells.

Davey officials sought cost-sharing for an “advanced well decommissioning” and the LPSNRD Board agreed. 

LPSNRD Water Resources Technician Maclane Scott explained, while a standard well decommissioning seals-off a well from potential pollutants, an advanced decommissioning also seals the casing around the well pipe, to further protect the village water supply. The well casing of an abandoned well can act as a conduit for pollutants that leads directly to an aquifer and an advanced decommissioning prevents that from happening. Scott said advanced well decommissioning is a recent innovation and the Davey request is the first one received by the district.  The Board agreed to reimburse the village for the cost of a standard decommissioning, plus 50% of the additional cost between a standard and an advanced decommissioning. The estimated total of district cost-sharing is $7,975.

Further assistance for district communities and well owners in protecting their water supplies was also approved by the Board. The Fiscal Year 2023 Budget will include funding for a drinking water protection specialist. Water Resources Coordinator Dick Ehrman told the Board there may be federal assistance available that funds 60% of the position’s cost for five years. The Board approved adding the position and seeking the Section 319 assistance from the state. Ehrman said LPSNRD has been helping the City of Waverly with a Source Water Assessment and Drinking Water Management Plan and whoever holds the new position would play a key role in that and similar projects with other district public water suppliers.

The annual stormwater management Work Plan between the City of Lincoln (City) and LPSNRD was approved by the Board. Under an interlocal agreement, the City and LPSNRD split the costs of completing $4.8 million in water quality, stream stabilization and flood control projects each year, following master plans for more than a dozen designated watersheds in the city. The 2022-2023 Work Plan also includes coordinated efforts to make Lincoln more resilient by decreasing the risks of flooding along Deadmans Run and Salt Creek.

In other business the Board:

• Approved fifteen landowner cost-sharing applications for installing water quality improvement projects under the LPSNRD Summer Conservation Program ($222,695)
• Approved a professional services agreement for preparation of a Salt Creek Levee SWIF Annual Progress Report.  LPSNRD is utilizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s multi-year SWIF program to make updates to the levee, which protects Lincoln neighborhoods and businesses from flooding.  ($7,020)
• Approved establishment of an Oak Creek Streambank Mitigation Site to mitigate environmental impacts and to obtain a federal Section 404 permit for the district’s Antelope Creek 40th to Scott Avenue Restoration Project
• Approved modifications to an Antelope Valley Project easement near 2200 “N” Street
• Approved a professional services agreement for the South Salt Creek Basin Master Plan Project #6, a stream stability project at the former Rock Island Railroad bridge over Salt Creek and at a Jamaica North Trail bridge, both in Wilderness Park (not to exceed $122,650)
• Approved a professional services agreement for the Nebraska Groundwater Clearinghouse Electronic Data Delivery Report (not to exceed $17,732)
• Approved a proposal to re-seed grass at Upper Salt Watershed Dam 3-A, near Sprague and approved a related amendment to a USDA/NRCS agreement
• Appointed Director Larry Ruth, of rural Walton, to serve as the LPSNRD representative on the Nebraska Land Trust Board of Directors
• Approved Community Forestry Program applications from the Ridge Homeowner’s Association and the Capitol Beach Community Association ($7,900)
• Approved a Loaned Services Agreement with the Nebraska Forest Service for a staff forester
• Extended a Salt Creek Levee Trail Interlocal Cooperative Agreement with the City of Lincoln
• Renewed an interlocal agreement with the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission for management of LPSNRD’s Wildwood Wildlife Management Area near Valparaiso
• Approved four joint funding agreements for water quality monitoring in the Platte River. 

The next meeting of the LPSNRD Board of Directors will be Wednesday, May 18, 2021, starting at 7 PM at the NRD office, 3125 Portia Street, Lincoln.  The public is invited to attend.  Visit LPSNRD.org or Facebook for related announcements.