News Release from
The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District

Date: July 5, 2011
Contact: Tim Anderson, Public Relations Manager
Phone: (308) 995-8601

July Board Meeting Summary

(HOLDREGE, Neb.) -- Inflows to Lake McConaughy have been declining over the past week and it appears peak flows have passed, according to a report at The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's monthly board meeting on Tuesday.

Cory Steinke, civil engineer with Central, said that it appears that much of the Platte Basin "dodged a bullet" with respect to higher flows. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had warned Central to expect inflows of up to 13,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) -- which would have set a record at Lake McConaughy -- with sustained inflows around 10,000 cfs. However, inflows peaked at 9,000 cfs on June 20 and have been trending downward since. Inflows as of Tuesday were around 5,500 cfs.

"The snowpack to produce those kinds of inflows was there, but it didn't melt as quickly as expected and high inflows from the Laramie River (a tributary to the North Platte River) never materialized," Steinke said. "As a result, it doesn't look like we're going to see the very high inflows that had been projected."

Steinke said there is still room to store inflows in Seminoe and Glendo reservoirs on the North Platte River in Wyoming, so releases from the Bureau's reservoirs have likely peaked.

He added that Central has been reducing outflows from Lake McConaughy as inflows have declined to help ease conditions along the North Platte River near the city of North Platte.

"It might be too early to predict that we've hit our peak inflows and elevation at Lake McConaughy, but we don't expect those numbers to get much higher unless there's a big rainfall event upstream," Steinke said.

Concerns over the potential for high flows in the South Platte River have also diminished, he said. While snowpack and reservoir conditions in Colorado indicated that high flows in the South Platte River were likely, the runoff came slowly enough that the slightly elevated flows have so far caused few problems.

Steinke said the situation will be evaluated over the rest of the summer and into the fall as Central makes plans to draw Lake McConaughy down below elevation 3260.0 by Oct. 1.

Central personnel are planning to meet with officials in North Platte to discuss operational releases and flows in the river as the lake is lowered.

Also at Tuesday's meeting:

• Electrical Superintendent Devin Brundage briefed the board on plans for revisions and expansion of the Gothenburg office and control center. The plans would address issues related to North American Electrical Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards and requirements, and would meet the needs of current operations at the Gothenburg office. Security improvements for the control room have already been completed.

NERC is the electric reliability organization certified by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish and enforce reliability standards for the bulk-power system. NERC develops and enforces reliability standards; monitors the bulk power system; and educates, trains and certifies industry personnel.

The Gothenburg office houses Central's control room, the main communications and operations center for Central's hydro-irrigation project. All of Central's hydroplants and control structures along the Supply Canal and main irrigation canals are monitored and controlled from Gothenburg.

"Our current setup was built for needs that existed in the 1970s," Brundage said. "Due to changes in operations and increasing requirements for security and reliability, we felt it was time to reevaluate what is needed comply with NERC standards, while addressing Central's operational needs in the maintenance shop and offices in Gothenburg."

The improvements will provide access control, video surveillance and control room security at the Gothenburg office, which will require additions and revisions to the existing building, he said. The NERC will likely require additional security improvements at Central's hydroplants and other structures within the project.

A preliminary cost estimate for phased improvements at the Gothenburg office is approximately $1.2 million.

• The board approved, subject to legal review, two agreements with the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program related to groundwater recharge along the Phelps Canal. The first agreement will test winter canal operations and pilot recharge projects to augment flows in the Platte River using water from the Environmental Account (EA) in Lake McConaughy. The EA is a block of water set aside for habitat purposes along the Platte River and was one of the conditions of Central's operating license issued by the FERC.

The second agreement covers use of excess flows in the Platte River for the same purposes.

• The board awarded a bid for bank stabilization and canal shaping along a section of the E65 Canal to Samuelson Land Leveling Co., of Holdrege. Total cost of the project, including phase 1 and two options for additional earthwork, is $126,597. Work will begin following the current irrigation season.

• Legal counsel Mike Klein reported that the cabin-owners' associations Jeffrey and Midway lakes recently filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Central to approve permits to construct below elevations specified in the leases at the lakes.

• Staff received permission from the board to proceed with a process to register with the Midwest Reliability Corp., a entity within the hierarchy of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electrical Reliability Corp. The process is part of the compliance requirements to protect critical infrastructure associated with electrical generation.

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