Water Studies

The LENRD is involved in various water studies to help the district better understand the water resources across our district and the state:

Lower Elkhorn River Basin Water Quality Management Plan

The Lower Elkhorn River Basin Water Quality Management Plan (the Plan) covers the lower portion of the Elkhorn River Basin, which is the watershed that created the boundary for the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD). The Plan provides a single coordinated strategy to identify water quality threats and needs, prioritize watersheds and areas for improvement, and identify practices and activities appropriate to address the known deficiencies in water quality. The Plan was funded through a grant received from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) and the LENRD.

The biggest priority for the LENRD was to address water quality concerns for the Willow Creek Reservoir. The Plan includes specific actions that would need to take place in order to reduce the occurrence of toxic algae blooms at the lake. Other waterbodies considered a priority for additional monitoring include Maskenthine Lake, Maple Creek Lake, and Rock Creek.

Please contact Kristie Freudenburg for more information.

Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment - ENWRA

Helicopter Electromagnetic Survey

The Lower Elkhorn NRD has the following Airborne Electromagnetic survey (AEM) reports (over 4,000 line-miles of data) available for review and download:

  • 2007 Oakland, Nebraska block USGS reports: http://enwra.org/media/hem_survey_07.pdf , http://enwra.org/media/sir2011-5228.pdf  First use of AEM technology in eastern Nebraska – conducted at three geologically distinct pilot study sites (Ashland, Oakland, and Firth) under the Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (ENWRA) project with Nebraska Department of Natural Resources [NeDNR] Interrelated Water Management Plan Program (IWMPP) funds.  

  • Google Earth Deliverables for Oakland, Nebraska block: http://enwra.org/downloads.html#Pilot 2007 data converted by Aqua Geo Frameworks, LLC [AGF] in 2016, also includes Firth and Ashland sites.

  • 2013 Clarkson-Howells, Nebraska Flights: http://enwra.org/downloads.html#CH  The LENRD employed the time domain electromagnetic geophysical method (TDEM), an AEM method capable of resolution below the thick glacial tills common in eastern Nebraska, in the Clarkson-Howells area in response to local water quantity issues from the 2012 drought season.

  • 2014 LENRD 3-mile Grid Reconnaissance Flights: http://enwra.org/LENRD2014AEMDataDownload.html  Over 1,000 line-miles of approximate 3-mile by 3-mile grids and long reconnaissance transects were flown across the LENRD in October 2014. The 3-mile grid coverage in the north central part of the LENRD was the first of three phased AEM initiatives to obtain grid coverage for the entire district (additional flights were conducted in 2016 and 2018).  The long recon-style transects were flown in partnership with ENWRA and the NeDNR to give ENWRA NRDs an idea of what can be imaged (this AEM system was the deepest sensing system to date) across different settings in their districts relative to their specific water management concerns (around 1,400 line-miles of long regional transects were conducted between 2014 and 2015).  

  • 2016 3-mile Grid Flights over the western part of the LENRD: http://enwra.org/aem2016.html#lenrd  The LENRD along with several NRDs across the state conducted AEM flights in July and early August 2016 using Water Sustainability Fund (WSF) grant dollars awarded in April 2016.  The LENRD completed the 3-mile grid coverage for the western part of the district as well as several focus area flight lines for delineating specific aquifer boundaries in and around Wayne County.

  • 2018 AEM Flights over the eastern part of the LENRD: http://enwra.org/aem2018.html#lenrd  The LENRD along with the other ENWRA NRDs conducted AEM flights in summer 2018 in a coordinated effort using WSF grant dollars (award #5189) accomplishing over 7,000 line-miles across eastern Nebraska rounding out several of the NRD’s AEM coverage goals.  The LENRD completed the 3-mile grid coverage for the remaining eastern part of the district as well as several focus area flight lines in Madison and Pierce Counties (around 1,700 line-miles were flown in 2018 over the LENRD).