Holdrege, Neb. — The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District board of directors approved a motion to allocate $4,900 from the District’s Lake Improvement Fund to the construction of a new lighthouse at Johnson Lake. The funds are intended to construct the concrete base for the lighthouse.
Several letters in support of the project have been received by the group of lake residents seeking the installation of the lighthouse on the jetty near the Lakeview Acres subdivision. It was also noted that the owner of the Nautical Rose restaurant/ marina was agreeable to the project.
In 2018, Central contributed partial funding for a similar project when a group of individuals worked to help widen the jetty and install a lighthouse at the Mallard Beach area of Johnson Lake.
Also at Monday’s meeting:
• Civil Engineer Tyler Thulin reported that Lake McConaughy is currently at elevation 3,245.2 feet above sea level or 69 percent capacity. Inflows are currently 750 cubic feet per second while outflows are 2,550 cfs. The only water being released from the lake is for irrigation purposes, as releases from the reservoir’s Environmental Account have ended.
• The board voted to approve a number of agricultural leases of District land. Senior Land Administrator Luke Ritz noted that the lease rates were set according to the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s recommended agricultural land rates.
• Irrigation Division Manager Dave Ford said the irrigation crews are in their fifth run of the irrigation season. Crews had a slight break in water deliveries with some precipitation last week, during which time they were able to apply some aquatic vegetation treatment to canals. However, irrigation demand is forecast to pick up again this week.
