LENRD Board Votes on Path Forward for Battle Creek Watershed Plan

Norfolk, Neb. – The Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD) Board of Directors voted to move forward and sign a contract with Houston Engineering to incorporate the Battle Creek Hydraulic Analysis Alternative into the Battle Creek Watershed & Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) Plan at their meeting on Thursday, July 27th.

At the July 13th Committee of the Whole meeting, Directors were given a presentation from Mike Sotak, Houston Engineering, that included a variety of flood mitigation options for Battle Creek. The options included: dam with detention, dam with diversion channel, dam with levee, a detention north of town, and a levee only. Due to the smaller environmental footprint, lower cost, and eligibility to meet the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) grant funding requirements, Directors chose the single dam and levee option to bring forward for consideration at the July 27th Board meeting.

The vote to sign the contract with Houston Engineering for the levee and single dam option allows the almost 90% completed WFPO plan to move forward towards completion. The total cost of the single dam and levee option is approximately $50 million and will require less of an out-of-pocket expense for the LENRD taxpayers. Houston Engineering and JEO will now work together to complete the remainder of the Battle Creek WFPO plan.  

“This vote is a positive step forward for the Battle Creek WFPO project. The single dam/levee option will allow us to have a better finished product and is the most cost-effective alternative,” said Brian Bruckner, LENRD interim General Manager.

Directors also approved a payment of $8,894.55 to Houston Engineering for their professional services related to the presentation of information at the July 13th meeting of the LENRD Committee of the Whole.

In other action, LENRD staff were directed to begin advertising a request for proposals for the development of a North Fork Elkhorn River Watershed Plan and Environmental Document for the WFPO program. The target of this project is to leverage assistance to the towns of Pierce and Osmond. While Osmond has interest in a levee of their own, the Pierce levee needs to be brought up to the necessary requirements for certification. Chairman Roger Gustafson chose five Directors to participate on an Evaluation and Selection Committee to select a candidate for the project: Jay Reikofski, Scott Clausen, Chad Korth, Jerry Allemann, and Melissa Temple. Proposals for the project will be accepted until Monday, August 21st at 4:30 p.m.

Directors awarded the Willow Creek Reservoir Outlet Channel Repair Project to Cech Excavating LLC for a total of $84,950.00. There were three contractors that submitted bids for the project. LENRD staff were estimating that the total cost of the project would be approximately $150,000.  The contractor has a completion date of March 15, 2024 and plans to begin work this month.

To learn more about the 12 responsibilities of the Nebraska’s NRDs and how your local district can work with you and your community to protect your natural resources, visit www.lenrd.org and sign up for our monthly emails. The next board of directors meeting will be Thursday, August 24th, at the LENRD office in Norfolk at 7:30 p.m. and on Facebook Live.