NRD awards $12.5M contract to build dam for Lake Wanahoo
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By ALGIS J. LAUKAITIS / Lincoln Journal Star
The Lake Wanahoo dam northeast of Wahoo in Saunders County is a go.
After two months of scrambling to find more money, the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District board on Monday accepted a low bid of about $12.5 million from Commercial Contractors Inc. of Lincoln to build the dam, which will create Lake Wanahoo. The 637-acre lake will be built about one mile north of Wahoo by damming up Sand Creek, the main tributary of Wahoo Creek.
Construction of the earthen embankment will start soon and is scheduled to be completed by summer 2010, said project manager Mike Murren.
*What, where: Lake Wanahoo will be built one mile north of Wahoo, on the west side of Nebraska 109. The dam will be built as part of the U.S. 77 bypass, which will skirt the west and north sides of Wahoo. The four-lane bypass will run along the side of the dam directly west of the Nebraska 92 junction, which will remain at its current location.
* How big?: The dam will create a 637-surface-acre lake, approximately seven times as large as nearby Czechland Lake at Prague. The lake will be situated on 1,600 acres of land, and will be open to the public for fishing, hunting, camping, picnicking, day use, and no-wake boating.
* What else?: Seven smaller dams will be built upstream on Sand and Duck creeks, along with large wetlands at the north end of Lake Wanahoo. These measures will help trap sediment and nutrients before they reach the lake, preserving the water quality, creating wetlands, and extending the life of the lake. Funding for these projects is being provided by the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
Source: Lower Platte North Natural Resources District
More on the project
The Lake Wanahoo project’s name comes from a local lake and dance pavilion that was popular for decades before its demise in the 1960s.
The park was a popular gathering place for area residents, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. The main attraction was an ornate dance hall on the manmade “Dance Island.” The moat surrounding the island was formed by diverting water from nearby Sand Creek with a water wheel. The park also featured a huge swimming pool.
Over the years, the park suffered a series of mishaps, including repeated flooding and at least one fire that razed the dance hall.
By the early 1960s, the park was suffering from declining attendance and deteriorating facilities. The final blow came in the form of a large flood in 1963. With the moat and swimming pool filled in by flood-borne silt, Wanahoo Park became a relic of the past.
In the years since the park’s closing, most landmarks have been removed or destroyed.
Virtually the only signs of the old park that haven’t been erased by time are the crumbling remains of the swimming pool foundation, and a dark ring visible in aerial photos where the moat was located.
However, despite being gone for more than 40 years, Wanahoo Park still evokes fond memories for many longtime residents of the area.
Source: Lower Platte North Natural Resources District
Commercial Contractors was one of three earlier bidders for the project, but the NRD in August put all the bids on hold because they came in higher than expected. Murren blamed the higher bids on the rising cost of fuel to operate earth movers and other construction equipment. Contractors will have to move about 1.25 million cubic yards of soil for the dam.
The Wahoo-based NRD then went back to its major sponsors and asked them for more funds. Murren said the city of Wahoo increased its contribution by $300,000, bringing its total contribution to $1 million, and the State of Nebraska, through its Natural Resources Development Fund, added another $2.8 million. It previously had committed $9.2 million.
With the additional money in place, the board voted 17-0 to award the contract to build the dam.
“The old saying is good things take time, and in this case it did take time,” said Murren, who was hired by the NRD in 1998 to work on the project.
Lake Wanahoo will be a flood-control and recreational lake on Sand Creek. A four-lane bypass of U.S. 77-Nebraska 92 will run across the front of the dam.
Murren said district officials also are asking the state Department of Roads to increase its contribution to the project. He said the roads department will be saving money by placing the highway on the side of the dam.
Murren said the Lake Wanahoo Project is the largest ever undertaken by the district. He said area residents will be proud of the project once it is completed.
The main purpose of the dam and lake is to control flooding in the 87-square-mile watershed and protect the city of Wahoo and county roads downstream from the dam. Recreational amenities will be added later.
Construction is already under way on two features of Lake Wanahoo. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a soil trap to keep sediment from entering the lake. That project is costing about $2 million and should be completed in about two months, Murren said.
The corps also is building a $1.4 million “breakwater” feature that will divide the two-mile-long lake. The structure’s purpose will be to reduce waves caused by strong north-south winds. A recreational trail will be built on top of the structure. There also will be a pedestrian bridge and fishing access on both sides, Murren said.
The Lake Wanahoo/Sand Creek Project began in the early 1990s as an effort to control flooding on Sand and Wahoo creeks.
Efforts to find solutions for the flood problems date back to at least the mid-1960s, and numerous reports and studies since then have confirmed the need for flood control in the area. However, little progress was made until 1993, when Wahoo, Saunders County and the Lower Platte North NRD began investigating the possibility of constructing a large reservoir just north of Wahoo.
According to the NRD’s Web site, preliminary studies in 1994 and 1995 indicated that the idea held promise, and in 1996 the project partners commissioned a more detailed feasibility study. That study, completed in June 1997, reaffirmed the merits of the plan and recommended that the project go forward.
As the project progressed, it evolved into a broader-based watershed project focused on environmental restoration, with flood control and recreation as added benefits.
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at (402) 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.
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