Money For Lincoln’s Second Water Source Project Kept In State Budget

LINCOLN–(KFOR May 26)–Among the items not vetoed by Governor Jim Pillen in Nebraska’s biennium state budget under LB 814 was about $177-million to secure a second water source for the city of Lincoln.

Mayor Gaylor Baird thanked the governor for keeping that in the state budget, saying-quote-“the passage of LB 814 to allocate $177.2-million in American Rescue Plan funds for our initiative to secure a second source of water will accelerate progress toward our ambitious goal and meeting the needs of our growing city”-end quote.

The second water source would come from the Missouri River, where a wellfield and treatment facility would be built.  Project funds will support the design and construction of new collector wells, transmission pipelines, distribution mains, and more.

In January 2023, the Water 2.0 Committee recommended a wellfield and treatment facility along the Missouri River in order to meet the projected water capacity needs of Lincoln through 2075 and beyond.