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When Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (Central) initially built
Johnson Lake and the related system of irrigation canals, no one could have imagined that
the lake would one day become one of the most popular recreational sites in Nebraska. But
in the late 1940s and early 1950s, houses began going up around the lake and soon there
was a large community of private homes and businesses around its perimeter.
The majority of these homes and businesses around the shoreline are located on land
owned by Central. All have their own individual septic tanks and drain fields to treat
their wastewater. Drinking water is provided by 41 community wells and 35 private wells.
These wells and septic tanks must all comply with the requirements of the State Department
of Health and the State Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ).
In March of 2000, NDEQ representatives met with JLDI officers and area presidents and
explained that many of the properties at Johnson Lake would not be able to meet the setback
requirements for septic tanks and drain fields from wells, buildings, lot lines, and shorelines
as specified in the adopted State regulations for which they are responsible for enforcement.
It has been estimated that 75 percent of the lots around Johnson Lake are too small to meet
the new requirements and would not be able to obtain a permit to replace, repair, or expand
their septic systems nor could they alter or change their existing buildings.
Routine sampling and testing by NDEQ, begun in 2001, has shown that Johnson Lake
contains significant quantities of pathogenic bacteria. Although the source of these
bacteria has not been determined, human indicators were identified and the results show
that contamination of the lake is occurring and could have a negative impact on the
recreational use of Johnson Lake in the future.
In September 2001, Central hired the engineering firm of Olmsted & Perry to assess
these issues. In their report of April 2002, Olmsted & Perry reported that:
The implications led the lot owners and leaseholders to decide to create some form of
shared governance. By a margin of nearly two to one, with nearly 60 percent of eligible
voters participating, they decided to create an SID.
In February 2005, the District Court
granted the formation of the Johnson Lake SID and the first meeting of the five-member
Board of Trustees took place.
As the project began, there was no single wastewater management method that was clearly
the best choice for the lake community. Instead, the engineers and scientists began by
studying a variety of options and approaches.
Choosing the Best-suited System for the Lake Community
For collection of wastewater, the alternative sanitary sewer systems considered were:
For wastewater treatment alternatives, the team considered these options:
Much of Phase I study time was spent gathering information about all these options.
Then, the team applied a broad range of criteria to each option, including capital
construction costs, life-cycle costs, system reliability, regulatory compliance, and
public acceptability, in order to come up with their formal recommendation.
For collection: a gravity sanitary sewer system
For treatment: a complete retention lagoon--With future growth, this could be converted
to a controlled discharge lagoon.
These are the primary reasons for this recommendation:
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Attachments (9)
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8-5-06 PPT_Final Version.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:10 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
340k
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April 2006 JLET newsletter.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:06 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
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Aug 5, 06 - mtg handout_Aug06.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:10 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
318k
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HUB 8-08-06 Article.txt - on Feb 28, 2009 7:10 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
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May 05 - Johnson Lake announcemt.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:05 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
705k
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Oct 05 --post mtg flyer.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:06 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
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Sept 06 Info sheet_9-06 mailer.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:07 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
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Sept 06 Q&A sheet_9-06 mailer.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:07 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
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Sept 24, 05 --mtg handout_Sept05.pdf - on Feb 28, 2009 7:08 PM by Larry Ossenkop (version 1)
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Purpose of the Public Involvement Process
This wastewater system project will have a direct impact on every single homeowner and business owner within the Lake community. Each person impacted will want to have the opportunity to give information and requests to the engineering team and S.I.D. Board.
So, the Board is working very closely with the JLET team to create and maintain a good public involvement promise. There are two major requests that we have heard from Lake residents:
1. Keep us informed
2. Give us good methods of communicating, with the S.I.D. Board, with the engineering team and with each other.
The Board and the JLET team take these communication responsibilities very seriously. Together, we have developed a statement that is our promise to the lake community.
Our Promise to Lake Residents and Businesses for How We Will Use Your Input: We will keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge your concerns, and provide feedback on how your issues and comments influenced the SID's decisions.
Components of the Public Involvement Process
These are the primary activities underway:
* Newsletters: Three newsletters have been mailed to all lake residents and are posted here.
o May 2005 (709 KB)
o October 2005 (202 KB)
o April 2006 (171 KB)
o September 2006 (Info Pages) -- 1 of 2 (329 KB)
o September 2006 (Question/answers section) -- 2 0f 2 (134 KB)
* Public Meetings:
o A public meeting was held on Saturday, September 24, 2005, at the Lexington Holiday Inn with more than 200 people in attendance.
September 24, 2005 Meeting Handout (288 KB)
o A second meeting was held on Saturday, August 5, 2006, at the Lexington Holiday Inn with 212 people in attendance.
August 5, 2006 Meeting Handout (317 KB)
August 5, 2006 Meeting Handout (341 KB)
o To read the article about the meeting from the Kearney Hub, click here.
* Individual interviews and discussions:
o At the beginning of the project the JLET team conducted a series of individual interviews.
o During final design and construction, the JLET team is operating an office at the lake and will meet with each home and business owner.
* Web site with regular updates.
Attached above are the referenced documents...