New report eliminates original site envisioned for huge lake between Omaha and Lincoln
This map shows the alternative sites explored for recreation lakes along the Platte River in south Sarpy County, as well as a proposed site for a recreational dam on the Salt Creek west of Ashland. (Screenshot from Olsson/Black&Veatch report)
LINCOLN – It appears it’s back to the drawing board for an ambitious proposal to dig a huge recreational lake between Omaha and Lincoln to rival Iowa’s Lake Okoboji.
That’s after a report, released Thursday, eliminated from consideration the initial location envisioned by state lawmakers – between Ashland and Gretna on the east side of the Platte River.
The report indicated that a lake there would threaten the water quality of the wellfields that provide drinking water to the City of Lincoln and “not be a viable lake location.”
The conclusions prompted those advising the feasibility study – which included the water utilities for both Lincoln and Omaha – to instead consider two smaller sandpit lakes upstream and downstream of Louisville, and to explore creating two recreation lakes by damming up the Elkhorn River near Nickerson and the Salt Creek west of Ashland.
State lawmakers, in an effort to make a “big swing” to attract tourists, workforce and development, had envisioned a 3,600-acre sandpit lake along Interstate 80. To avoid controversy over past proposals to dam the Platte River in the Ashland area, they sought a sandpit lake – one created by mining out sand – in the floodplain near Linoma Beach, which is now primarily farmland.
Last week’s study indicated that either the two sandpits near Louisville, or the two reservoirs on the Elkhorn and Salt, would provide about the same amount of water recreation. But that report, and one exploring whether philanthropists and developers would invest in the estimated $3.3 billion project, both recommended more study.
‘Much more pressing needs’
Two state senators who sit on the legislative committee that first proposed the big lake – called “Lake 80” in the report last week — said Friday they were unaware that the two studies had been released and were not prepared to comment in detail.
But one member of the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability (STARWARS) Committee said that officials should move on and that Nebraska has higher priorities.
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln said Nebraska towns and cities recently asked for more than $1 billion to help them remove nitrates and other contaminants from drinking water, yet state funds are lacking to do that.
“We have much more pressing needs,” the senator said, citing the need for clean drinking water.
The big lake idea grew out of a 2022 legislative study looking at the state’s recreational and economic development needs. At the time, the state was flush with money, so several projects were funded — including new marinas at Lake McConaughy and Lewis & Clark Lake — and money was set aside to study and build Lake 80.
State Sen. John Arch, the speaker of the Legislature and chair of the STARWARS committee, said his main concern is that any lake development doesn’t harm drinking water supplies for Omaha and Lincoln. About 930,000 Nebraskans rely on wellfields along the Platte River.
While that concern appears to have been addressed in the recent studies, Arch said that the Legislature would have to reallocate money for building recreational lakes after lawmakers diverted previous funds for Lake 80 construction to other needs.
“There’s no question, a lot of things would have to line up to make this happen,” he said.
Two reports were released last week. One was designed to determine whether a huge sandpit lake would threaten the wellfields operated by the Lincoln Water System and the Metropolitan Utilities District in the area along the Platte. It concluded that it would, prompting study of alternatives.
The second report was to determine if philanthropists and developers would invest in the $3.3 billion project — and initially, they were to be counted on to provide about 90% of the costs.
Concerns raised
Concerns were raised by both reports.
The technical report, done by Olsson and Black & Veatch, said that 10-foot-high berms would be needed around the sandpit lakes along the Platte, which would narrow the floodplain, causing “substantial unintended consequences” on flooding downstream.
The financial feasibility study concluded that while private groups were clearly interested, there were “significant engineering, environmental, and economic obstacles for digging a lake” and that the state ought to explore alternatives that are “more cost effective” and more expedient.
A spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, which is now the lead agency for the lake project, said Friday that the agency was “reviewing the study’s recommendations as the Department coordinates with the Governor’s Office, Legislature, and other agencies to consider options going forward.”
Over the decades, plans to dam up the Platte between the state’s two largest cities have been floated, but they were always shot down due to opposition to the need to flood existing homes and businesses.
Conceptual drawings to this point had shown a single sandpit lake, about 3,600 acres in size, on the east side of the Platte River, next to Linoma Beach, straddling U.S. Highway 6. Funding was to come from both public and private sources.
The technical study said it initially looked at five locations for the lake, but after eliminating two sites (including the Linoma Beach site), the consultant was asked by the state DED to explore two separate sandpit lakes. Another state agency, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, requested exploration of another alternative – building dams on the Elkhorn River and Salt Creek.
The two sandpit lakes — one on the north side of the Platte just upriver from Louisville, and another larger sandpit north and east of the Nebraska Highway 50 bridge over the river — would provide about 3,000 acres of lake surface.
The two dams explored would provide 4,100 acres of water. The Salt Creek dam would be 50 feet high and 5,500 feet long, while the dam on the Elkhorn would be 36 feet high and 9,000 feet long.
The report stated that the dams — which hadn’t been recommended by state legislators — were explored because “initial analysis indicated few options in the Platte River floodplain” for sandpit lakes.
The location originally envisioned, between Ashland and Gretna, included a huge portion of the wellhead protection area for the City of Lincoln’s wellfield — an area set aside to prevent development that could harm the drinking water.
Public-private partnerships
Interestingly, the financial feasibility study, done by Omaha fundraiser Sue Morris, didn’t look at the dual sandpits or the two dams, but focused on reaction to a single, 3,000-acre lake near Linoma Beach.
It concluded that there was “clear” interest from developers and the philanthropic community and discussed how public-private partnerships had been successful in Austin, Texas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, to build large recreational areas associated with lakes and rivers.
That report said residential/commercial development would be focused on the east side of the lake, along Interstate 80, while the west side of the lake would become recreational trails and parkland.
It projected 1.4 million annual visits to such a lake, with about one third of visitors coming from out of state. More than 4,000 primary residences and cabins were envisioned.
The Morris report stated, however, that developers wanted to know whether the state would acquire the land for development or whether that would be their job. Concern was expressed about the need for additional financing mechanisms besides traditional sanitary and improvement districts (SIDs) — options such as tax increment financing — and about who would manage the lake and development.
Concern was also voiced about the railroad line that runs through the Linoma Beach site and the noise it would create for nearby luxury homes.
The report concluded that a management entity should be pursued, like the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA), which manages Omaha’s CHI Health Center and Charles Schwab Field.
Both reports recommended that while no fatal flaws were found, additional studies are needed to ensure that a big lake, or lakes, or dams, are technically feasible.
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