SC Nebraska News

Lake Hastings Water Quality Public Meeting

April 6, 2023, 5:30pm – 7:00pm

Parks & Recreation Community Center

2015 W 3rd Street, Hastings, NE 68901

- Project representatives in attendance: Tara Ogren (City of Hastings), Kristen Ohnoutka (JEO), Bryce Helms (City of Hastings), Alex Engel (Nebraska Game and Parks), Upper Big Blue NRD, Little Blue NRD

- The meeting was well attended by the community with around 70 people in attendance with a handful of children who all seemed to enjoy the food and refreshments provided.

- Tara began the meeting with a visual and an overview explaining the Lake Hastings watershed and going over some of the data that’s been collected through the years (2009-2022) and the poor quality of the water of the Lake.

- Most in attendance were curious about dredging the lake by suction (hydraulic) or mechanical method or even draining it. Tara stated that there could be no draining of the lake until the drainage pipe which has not been exercised in 50 years is maintained. The current depth of the lake averages 5 feet. There was discussion of doing some selective deepening (12–15 feet) along the west shoreline for anglers.

- No steps will be taken in deepening Lake Hastings until the upstream issues threatening the lake are implemented and put into place. This would be done by implementing vegetative BMPs to help with soil conservation. Some of the BMP’s discussion was the use of Filter strips and grass buffers, no-till farming takes place in approximately half of the watershed.

- Alex with Nebraska Game and Parks spoke about the fish species and their current numbers. They shocked the lake and found that there were good numbers of catfish, a small number of crappies, and essentially no bass in the lake. Alex stated that the fish totals were similar to the report 15 years ago.

- The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer session with those in attendance.

- Most were concerned with the renovation and the timeline that was expected, which was a 5–10-year process.

- Others were curious about the boat docks and what would be done with them if they are to be moved during the restoration.

- It was suggested for folks to participate in a citizen engagement group with the City for the Lake so that communication between City and community can be ongoing.

Original source can be found here.