Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.

We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.

Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. Please use the button below to manage your account.

Access all content on our website for $9.99 per month

Access all content on our website for 48 hours

 Verify you have a print subscription to get free digital access to our website

Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.

Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.

Northeast/North Central Nebraska’s most trusted, comprehensive, and timely news source

Residents of the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District whose domestic well water has elevated nitrate levels could benefit from one of the district’s 2023 priorities.

On Thursday, the LENRD board of directors approved budgeting $40,000 for a domestic well sampling program that could lead to even more help for those well owners. That help would come from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund administered by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE).

Nebraska has awarded NDEE $1.2 million of its America Recovery Plan Act funds to cover the cost of reverse osmosis systems for homes served by private wells with water that has nitrate levels higher than 10 parts per million (ppm).

The NDEE program covers the cost of equipment and installation but does not cover the required water tests, which is why the LENRD board budgeted the $40,000. That money would pay for 140-150 tests, based on the estimated cost of $270 per well.

At the August LENRD committee of the whole meeting, Brian Bruckner, LENRD’s assistant general manager, said 2,419 domestic wells in the district are registered as active, but there are more out there that were installed prior to the state’s requirement for wells to be registered.

The LENRD board will consider the sampling program at its Thursday, Sept. 22, meeting. The program is voluntary but mandates that wells be registered before the district will fund the water tests.

The water samples would be collected by LENRD staff. Tests for nitrates would be done by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Environmental Laboratory. Bacteria tests would be done by LENRD staff, and various other labs would be used to test for other contaminants, such as agricultural herbicides and glyphosate/aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA).

Owners of wells with water exceeding 10 ppm in nitrates would be eligible to apply for NDEE funds for a reverse osmosis filter system. Applications for the NDEE program will begin in January, so the sooner the district can begin its water sampling program, the better.

Wells with the most acute nitrate problems are likely to receive priority, Bruckner said at the August meeting, adding, “and I would think we have as much need as anyone in the state.”

At Thursday’s LENRD meeting, board chairman Mark Hall said it’s a good program because it offers some well owners a chance to get a water treatment system for almost no cost and can help educate domestic well users.

Curt Becker, LENRD projects manager, said another part of the water sampling program would provide some district funds for treatment systems for wells that either test at 5 ppm for nitrates or are positive for pesticides.

That proposal is for the district to pay up to 50% of the equipment and installation costs, not to exceed $800.

Those with nitrate levels above 10 ppm would be directed to the NDEE before they could seek LENRD funds for treatment equipment.

LINCOLN — A Nebraska woman who lost Medicaid coverage in the midst of cancer treatment is challenging the federal rule that required the state to cut her off.

A man has died as the result of a shooting Wednesday evening in southern Wayne County. 

NPPD has planned an outage for electric customers in Boyd County, as well as parts of Holt and Knox counties for Sunday, Sept. 18, from 1 to 5 p.m.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Thousands of people in cities across the U.S. finished Eliza’s run Friday morning.

The drought that has continued to worsen across Nebraska is drawing the attention of the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District’s Board of Directors.

The Wakefield Public School was put into lockdown for awhile Friday afternoon after the Dixon County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a suspicious person near Highway 35 and Highway 9 north of Wakefield.

Listed below is the 24-hour rainfall in inches as of 7 a.m. Saturday in area communities. 

In 2020, a seasoned architectural firm from Kansas City performed a space needs assessment of the Norfolk police station.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the market on …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters struggling to control raging California wildfires faced a ne…

LONDON (AP) — Bells tolled across Britain on Friday and mourners flocked to palace gates to …

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Thousands of people in cities across the U.S. finished Eliza’s run Fri…

Finding out that shrinkflation, adorkable, subvariant and even pumpkin spice are now officia…

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.