Lower Loup NRD Hosts Columbus Area Recharge Project Open House
After several years of research and construction, the Columbus Area Recharge Project is up and running as planned. The Lower Loup NRD and its partners acknowledged the milestone at an open house on Wednesday, Aug. 24, in Columbus.
The project was created after LLNRD technicians observed water levels near Columbus falling from 2010 to 2014. Irrigation wells, commercial wells, and domestic wells were being impacted. Rather than utilizing regulatory authority over area water users, the recharge project was created to augment groundwater back to the area. The groundwater levels had fallen as a result of the successful Lost Creek flood control project. The Columbus Area Recharge Project will mitigate declining groundwater levels in the area using diverted water from the Loup Power Tailrace Canal to be dispersed for groundwater recharge at the abandoned Lost Creek channel and the former gravel pit now known as Christopher’s Cove. Agencies partnering on the project with the Lower Loup NRD include the City of Columbus, Platte County, ADM, and the Christopher’s Cover Homeowners Association.
“ADM is pleased to partner with LLNRD on such a value-added project,” said ADM in a prepared statement. “We believe that groundwater is a vital natural resource for the communities in which we operate, and it is a key component of how we transform thousands of acres of locally grown corn into value added products that provide nutrition to both humans and animals across Nebraska and the United States. The Columbus Area Recharge Project aligns with ADM’s purpose to unlock the power of nature and enrich the quality of life, and it aligns with ADM’s long term sustainability goals we have set out to achieve a 10% reduction in water intensity by 2035.
See the video here: Recharge video
