August 10, 2026 at 6:00 PM - Regular Board of Directors Meeting

Rationale: 

NOTE: The agenda is on file at the LPNNRD office and may be changed up to 24 hours prior to the meeting as scheduled.

 

Rationale:  Are there any additions or corrections to the agenda?

Rationale:  A report from our representative on the Commission, Tom Mountford, is attached

Rationale:  Are there any additions or corrections to the Minutes? If not they will be approved on the consent agenda.

Rationale:  The NARD Fall Conference is September 28-29, 2026 at the Younes Conference - South.  Registration deadline is Friday, September 4th. Please let Breunig know if you are interested in attending and if you will need a room.   

Rationale:  The Budget Workshop is Monday, August 3rd at 6:00 p.m. 

Rationale:  Attached find excuse of absence requests from Joe Birkel for the April and June Board Meeting.  

April 2026 - Family Committment
June 2026 - Family Committment

Rationale:  August - IMP Presentation by DWEE

Rationale:  The NE Land Trust is asking for sponsorships/donations for their Fall Education event.  LPN dontated $250 last year.

Rationale:  LiveWellGoFish is reviewing their ongoing Continuation Plan as they look to the future.  They are asking Lower Platte North NRD if we have any interest in becoming a larger partner in their organization as they proceed.

Rationale:  Staff is working with Jovan to develop a Donor Advised Fund Agreement finalizing our work to allow tax-exempt donations to Lower Platte North NRD.  Once complete, the agreement will be brought to the board for final approval.  Draft agreement will be shared as a handout
 

Rationale:  Attached find the Draft June Financial Statement. Grant will be available to review the financial statement.  We will not approve the June Financial Statement until after the annual audit. 

Rationale:  Attached find Gottschalk's time and expense sheets. 

Rationale:  Nothing to consider for unfinished business.

Rationale:  Nothing to report.

Rationale:  The O & M staff armored the shoreline that abuts to the east end of the Wanahoo Dam rip-rap and a monitoring well and an erosion problem on the east end of the breakwater. We continue to spray invasive trees on many areas.

Rationale:  We believe the Public Information Meeting Outreach Plan for Cottonwood 21-A is being reviewed by NRCS headquarters. When the draft Supplemental Watershed Plan is approved, a public meeting notice will be advertised and a meeting date will be scheduled.

Rationale:  Update from Houston Engineering.

• We had a meeting with FEMA a few months ago after their review.  All positive comments from FEMA, but they did request that we separate the tabulated costs of repair and mitigation. 
• Connor has separated these costs and has a revised table for FEMA. 
• The delay in this effort since our FEMA meeting was due to new LIDAR data that we flew.  This showed more damage on the left bank of the creek channel than what was noted by FEMA.  Because this damage wasn’t visible before, we are altering the extent of the original damage.  This will ensure the maximum amount of the proposed Project is covered under repair, which opens the remainder of the Project to mitigation funding.

Rationale:  Our Snitily Wetland/Pheasants Forever tract on the north end of our Wanahoo property is around 175 acres, of which 101 acres is WRP and 58 acres are EWPP (Emergency Wetland Protection Program). For the past two years, the District has tried to coordinate with the NRCS and their prescribed burn contractor to get it burned.
We are going to solicit bids from prescribed burn contractors independently. If we can obtain a contractor and burn the area, NRCS will pay for the 101 acres in WRP and the District would carry the rest. We will not know our cost until we receive bids.

Rationale:  We have not received any applications or invoices.

Rationale:  For the month of June, the District received $9,604.50 in park permit revenue.

Rationale:  For the month of June, the District received $19,671.44 in camping revenue.

Rationale:  The Clint Johannes Education Building at Lake Wanahoo was rented 13 times in July, with 2 NRD events. Revenue for the month was $1,725.

Rationale:  KTIC radio ads schedule:
July: Variances
Aug: Summer Viaduct

Digital display ad schedule:
Aug: Summer Viaduct

Rationale:  Top Posts for Facebook and X during July 1-28 included:
• Wahoo Creek Watershed construction photos
• Native Nook program (10/11 commercial)
• Water Department video
• Nocturnal Night flyer
• Coffee, Lakeside flyer

Facebook followers: 1,902 (up 14)
X followers: 429 (up 1)

On the LPNNRD website, top pages (besides the home page)
• Lake Wanahoo
• Czechland Lake
• Projects and Programs
• Pollinator Program (Native Nook)
• Downloads

Traffic from other sites directed to LPNNRD.org
• 1011now.com (304)
• Facebook (41)
• NARD (19)
• Visit Nebraska (11)
• X (3)

Rationale:  The Summer 2026 Viaduct is finished and will be inserted into newspapers the week of August 10-14. Print copies are available in the office. A digital version is available at lpnnrd.org/downloads

Rationale: 

• July 9th: Coffee Lakeside - Walk the prairie (10)
• July 13th: Nocturnal Night (40)
• July 22nd: Arlington FFA Ag Tour Stop (18)

Rationale: 

• August 13th: Coffee Lakeside - Celestial Events

Down the road: Green Thumb Gathering; Native Seed Collecting; Science and Scenes; and more! 
Gearing up for the school year and our Land Judging Contest in October.

Rationale:  Alaina Chapman and Kayleigh Sake both attended ACE Camp this year. Attached is a photo. Both girls wrote great responses to the post camp questionnaire! 

 

Rationale:  We recieved our lead and copper results and delivered results to participating homeowners.  All results were below action limits.  
Routine sampling completed, meters read and bills to be mailed 7/31.

Rationale:  Routine sampling completed, meters read and bills to be mailed 7/31.

Rationale:  Committee Budget Review

Reminder that the Budget Workshop is Monday, August 3 at 6:00 pm.

Rationale:  The deadline is September 15.

Rationale:  The deadline is August 15.

Rationale:  Weston Loseke has applied for a Supplemental Well Permit for the SE SE 33-19N-2W, Platte County.  The location is NW of Platte Center.  Information on location, test hole and current water level graph is attached along with comments from Grosh Irrigation below.  

From: Silver Creek Office <silvercreek@groschirrigation.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2026 8:33 AM
To: Daryl Andersen <dandersen@lpnnrd.org>
Subject: Scott Loseke test hole

I am working on the permit but its been a mad house around here and looks like I forgot to email this also but here it is. Spencer estimates it to pump between 700-900GPM. Let me know if you have any questions. I will get the permit sent to Scott hopefully today!


JeniLynn Storm
Office Manager
Grosch Irrigation Co., Inc.
3110 33rd Road - PO Box 337
Silver Creek, NE 68663
308-773-2261- Office
silvercreek@groschirrigation.com

Discussion:

The committee reviewed the provided information, including the historical water levels, and agreed that the location seems suitable for a supplemental well. 
 

Rationale:  A draft well interference complaint form and policy document has been prepared. The well interference complaint form has been updated to request GPS coordinates of the well(s) and provide the complainant an overview of the actions the NRD will take in response. Staff is requesting comments and feedback on these documents so they can progress to being approved for use. 

Discussion: 

Several recommendations were made for the interference complaint form that will be actioned before the next committee meeting, including: 

• Adding fields for water levels
• Logging communication with the involved parties
• Adding an area for additional wells suspected of intereference

The procedures were also reviewed, and the section on resolution of complaints will be reviewed in the next committee meeting. Feedback included:
 

• Expand the communication methods to include email or phone intially, and only send a certified letter as a last resort. 
• Make clear what is the complainants expense, and not the NRDs, such as hiring a well inspector or hydrogeologist. 

 

Rationale:  RO (Reverse Osmosis) — cost share is 75% up to $800 with assistance of $70 for registering the domestic well.  

Dean Novak has two sites eligible for RO. Results were 8.17 ppm & 14.3 ppm. One of his domestic wells is not registered. 
Jeff Anderson has applied for 1 site that is eligible for RO with his site testing over 10 ppm.  Jeff's well is not a registered domestic well and the cost for registering a domestic well has risen to $240.

Attachment is the current application and qualifications.  

Flow Meters

Galen Kehrli - 1 Flow Meter - $1,000

Discussion on applying for a grant for updating drop nozzles on pivots.  

Discussion:

The committee felt that the RO cost share should be increased to $1,000, but that the cost of registration should be the responsibility of the property owner. Registration will still be required to qualify for cost share. 

 

Rationale:  Discussion on individuals or firms wanting data from the NRD.

Currently, we have a request from a student here who is working with Dr. Debra Perrone from University of California, Santa Barbara on rules and regulation, shape files and orders issued.
The NRD gets requests from realtors, engineering firms, county assessors or patrons from the district.

In the past, the NRD has provided the information that has been requested.

Discussion:

The committee was concerned about how staff time in managing and replying to these requests, and suggested possibly charging for staff time. Additionally, the committee would like to investigate the implications of LB1096, which permits the restriction of public data sharing about critical infrastructure, such as water.

 

Rationale: 

Less than 10 renewal inspections left. 

Rationale: 

• 80% of our Statewide Network Wells have been sampled. Contaminants sampled for are: nitrates, pesticides, sodium, iron, magnesium, and uranium. 
• All of Todd Valley is currently being sampled to assist with management decisions in the future. 
• District-Wide maps of all sampling events will be provided to the board this winter. 

Rationale:  FY25–26 we had 11 water well abandonments that received cost share payment.  

Rationale: 

# new wells has been reviewed and approved for decommissioning since the last Committee meeting.

Rationale: 

# wells have been plugged, reviewed, and ready for cost share payment approval this month.

Well Owner	Type of Well	Cost Share Estimate	County

 

Rationale:  For the past 3 years, the NRD has been doing demonstrations with producers on utilizing precision nitrogen applications through the Sentinel Company.  This year, the pumps were furnished to Ethan Cuda and Travis Klug with fields in the Schuyler-Richland Nitrogen Management Area.  The NRD purchased a couple of variable rate pumps three years ago and assist the producer in paying for the first year of satellite imagery.  The producer and Sentinel provide the NRD information on the field at the end of the year on nitrogen reduction.  
Attached is this invoice from Sentinel for $1,716.  They have raised their rates from previous years.  

Rationale:  Preliminary data for the SQS2 area, including water level measurements and flow meter data, were provided to Dr. Jesse Korus for review. The data will require additional cleaning up to train a potential AI model in the future. Additionally, if model development is pursued, existing GIS data and models developed by LRE/Spheros would be helpful. 

The current proposed scope would be to train an AI model using extensive data from the SQS2 area, and roll the model out district wide by subarea over the course of one year. A graphical user interface (GUI) for modifying model parameters and visualizing data would be delivered at the end of the project.

If the committee would like to move forward, staff would like to proceed with Request for Qualifications (RFQs) and Request for Proposals (RFPs). 

Discussion:

Before progressing to RFQs and RFPs, the committee would like staff to provide addional information and clarity on:

• Specific examples and scope of what the model will do
• AI Inputs
• AI Outputs
• How the end product will be used
• Value of the data

Rationale:  Water Committee Source Water Protection

Increased interest in communities wanting to update their Wellhead Protection Plans have caused some questions to arise in how the NRD will participate in helping communities protect their drinking water. We currently conduct water sampling in these areas and help with preparing the plan by conducting contaminant source inventory. I am looking for guidance from the committee on what else we should do to help communities within our district.

Committee discussed topics below. No further actions were taken.

Projected Communities to update in the next 1-2 years:

• Yutan- Meeting with City Council on August 17^th with DWEE
• Mead- Met with earlier and they are currently working on an aquifer analysis with DWEE
• Cedar Bluffs- will need updated after construction of new well
• North Bend- will need updated after construction of new well

Cost-Share Ideas:
Ttem at potential well siting assessment locations. 

Monitoring wells: Cost-share with monitoring wells that can be used by both the district and the community for water quality and quantity while improving our monitoring network to both collect more data and strengthen modeling accuracy.

Water Sampling: More expensive sampling (13 Parameter) to give us more quality data as well as showing communities what is around their WHPA

Vadose Zone Sampling: Getting an idea of what is moving through the soil profile will help in making sure a site for the community is reasonable. It will also give us an idea of areas of concern as contaminants flow through the soil profile.

 

Rationale:  This is the cost for half of a year, which will expire June 30th of 2027. At the present time this will be in FY26-27 budget. 

Rationale:  Attached is USGS quarterly invoice per contract for stream gages on Shell Creek and Wahoo Creek for $4,334.

Rationale:  Two staff members attended the Groundwater Management District Association conference in Lubbock, TX from July 21-23. Topics included information on using data for decision-making, case studies on data center water usage, rainwater harvesting, remote sensing, and water issues specific to Texas. Based on information from the conference, staff members will be investigating topics that may be applicable to the LPNNRD, such as using remote sensing for evapotranspiration rates and crop inventories, programs that could be pursued with Nebraska Extension, and acoustic water level monitoring instruments. 

Rationale:  Attached is a list of NSWCP applications for FY 27 approval.  Due to the loss of State funding a portion of the NSWCP program we have limited the approvals to cover crops and three structure applications.  We already have one structure application approved for summer construction.
The estimated cost-share for FY27 is $86,725.01

Rationale:  Gene Wissenburg, Matt Bailey, and Ryan Chapman joined 3 teachers and 8 students from Newman Grove and Schuyler schools at the SWCS international conference in St. Louis.  Gene and Matt gave a great presentation on Monday just before lunch.  They entertained lots of questions at the end of their presentation that even lingered into lunchtime.  Students presented an oral presentation on Wednesday morning and were at their poster during designated times to answer questions and engage with conference goers.  Their poster turned out great - a big thanks to Anni Poetzl (DWEE/UNL-Extension) for printing!  Staff will get some more info and pictures out on socials in the coming days.

For the 2023 SWCS conference, we approved stipends of $130 per day for teacher chaperons.  This was based on substitute teacher pay rates.  Directors receive $65 per day and we have a history of using that rate for SCWIG members.  Matt will run his through directors quarterly reimbursement.  We also anticipate covering mileage for the schools utilizing appropriate federal rates.

SCWIG has a meeting on August 7th, 10:00 am to hear from UNL and NRCS experts on GPS cattle collars.  This is expected to be a cost-effective alternative to cross fencing and livestock exclusion fencing.  A cost share recommendation is expected coming out of this meeting.

On 7/20 Maslonka, Elliott, and Bill Bos met with representatives from the Village of Newman Grove to inspect a drainage concern in the golf course.  The problem is at the south-east portion of the golf course there is a low spot that will back up and flood two holes on the course.  There is an existing 24" CMP culvert that drains to Shell Creek, however, the outlet portion of the culvert is silted in significantly, and thus will not drain.  The issue stems from the bridge over Shell Creek on HWY 45 to the east causing the creek to silt in upstream.  We discussed multiple alternatives but the Village, and the golf course, are very limited in funds so scenarios involving cost-share BMPs are unlikely due to design scope.  We will plan to discuss this further at our next SCWIG meeting on 8/7.

Rationale:  Monthly construction update details:

• TCI poured the baffle top for the riser, installed the c-channel trash rack on the inlet, installed the actuator assemble (drawdown), ladder, and manhole on 26A
• TCI installed trash rack on drawdown inlet for 26B
• Shanahan finished foundation (sand) drains on 26B and continued with embankment fill placement

Work planned for August

• TCI will pour finish riser construction on 26B
• TCI will install an additional sand drain on 26A (change order per Olsson)
• Shanahan will finish with embankment fill on 26B
• Finish riprap placement on 26A & B

A change order will be coming from TCI to have an additional sand drain outlet placed on 26A near the auxiliary spillway outlet.  During excavation a groundwater seep was observed and Olsson determined it was significant enough to warrant mitigation before it could impact the stability of the spillway.  Estimated cost for change order = $18,321.00

TCI invoice attached
 

Rationale:  Site 84 is done with the review process and is waiting for final approval from Tim Gokie, DWEE Dam Safety.  Site 77 is currently under review and Olsson believes the review should go smoothly as 77 has already gone through Federal (NRCS) review.
ACOE is reviewing our 404 permit for remaining sites and have not had any negative comments so far.  There was (another) Project Manager put in charge of our area and so there is the usual backlog as they are brought up to speed.  We expect the permit within the month.
Saunders County Board of Supervisors approved our floodplain/conditional use permits for sites 55, 84, & 77 at their 7/21 meeting.

Rationale:  Updates on remaining acquisitions for sites 66 & 86.

Rationale:  The Wahoo Creek Watershed 319 Project Implementation Plan was approved by EPA. We are awaiting DWEE signature to begin the project.

 

Rationale:  Mainelli Wagner is in the process of getting the alignment finalized and full quantities ran.  After they get this done, we will have a new/better construction estimate.

Rationale:  Attached is the final work plan for OneRed funding.  We will utilize funds to support one-third of the district's Water Quality Program coordinator position, one-third of the district's Conservation Technician position, and funds to support one educational workshop.  We expect to receive an agreement the week of Board Meeting.  A motion is requested to approve OneRed work plan and authorize Board Chair to sign funding agreements after legal counsel approval.

Rationale: 

NOTE: The agenda is on file at the LPNNRD office and may be changed up to 24 hours prior to the meeting as scheduled.