HOLDREGE — An engineering firm was hired Monday to design a fix for seepage issues near the pump station at Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District’s Elwood Reservoir.
According to a press release, the Central board approved a proposal from RJH Consultants Inc. of Englewood, Colorado, to design a weighted filter seepage management system. The work will include additional data collection and evaluation of seepage areas, engineering design for the solution, and preparing final design and regulatory review documents.
The cost will be $271,712 and the work is estimated to take five months.
CNPPID employees observed the seepage problem earlier this year. Geotechnical investigations and a study of soil conditions followed to help identify the issue.
Two sites closer to the dam will be included in the engineer’s project design to ensure the continued safe operation of the facility.
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In other business Monday, the board heard an end of irrigation season report from Dusty Way, irrigation operations and maintenance assistant supervisor.
He said average irrigation delivery was 8.92 inches per acre. In addition, there was 94,883 acre-feet of groundwater recharge during the 2020 irrigation season.
Way said the 10.36 inches of rainfall was measured at the Holdrege gauge during the six-month growing season — April through September — is third lowest since CNPPID began recording such data in 1957.
CNPPID civil engineer Tyler Thulin reported Monday that Lake McConaughy is at elevation 3,240.6 feet above sea level, which is 63.3 percent of capacity.
Inflows are at approximately 1,350 cubic feet per second. Releases are at 25 cfs while the Kingsley Hydroplant is off line for a maintenance outage.
Thulin also said Johnson Lake will be drawn down approximately 2 feet during the next few days, but should return to normal levels during the following 10 days as CNPPID coordinates a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) project on the Platte River.
From mid-October to mid-November, Johnson Lake will begin its normal fall water level fluctuations associated with a hydrocycling agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to improve river conditions during migrations season for endangered whooping cranes.
Also Monday, Irrigation Operations Manager Dave Ford announced he will retire Jan. 25 after 34 years with the district.