River clean-out shifts into high gear

The Twin Valley Weed Management Area committee shifted into high gear this fall and has approved several projects to clean out the Republican River channel.

The segment of the river that was targeted this year was a 56-mile stretch from the Cambridge diversion to the tail water of Harlan County Reservoir. Over one-half million dollars were earmarked this year says Project Coordinator Merle Illian.

(Advertisement)

These funds were made available through LB701 funding which was introduced by Sen. Tom Carlson of Holdrege. Previous funding included $772,500 for an 82 mile stretch of river from Harlan Dam to the Kansas-Nebraska state line south of Superior.

Two separate bids have recently been approved. The first contract for chemical spraying of the river was awarded to Rust Enterprises. The chemical spraying of the herbicide called Habitat was completed last week, said Furnas County Weed Superintendent Todd Weverka.

The environmental friendly herbicide was spot-sprayed along the river in Harlan and Furnas County targeting phragmites, which is on the Nebraska Noxious Weed List. Approximately 90 acres of spraying was completed using ground application equipment said Weverka.

Another contract approved last week by TVWMA was for removal of logs and debris from the river channel. A & L Leveling Inc. was awarded the contract for this project consisting of a 31-mile segment of river from Edison to the tail water of Harlan Reservoir. This work will consist of putting an excavator in the river and removal of all logs and woody debris as it traverses down the channel.

This work will not start until Jan 15, Illian said. There is a tremendous amount of hunting along the river this time of year and the landowners prefer not to have heavy equipment in the river channel creating wildlife distraction.

It was originally planned to remove logs and debris from the river channel from Cambridge Diversion to Edison as well Illian said. However, because of limited funding this segment of the river will have to be done at a later time.

Landowner cooperation and participation has been excellent for this project Illian said. "Of course, you always have a few not wanting to participate. However, this is an excellent opportunity to rid the channel of logs and debris that impeded water flow. The quicker that you can move water down the river the less likely flooding will occur.

For additional information on the project you may contact Project Coordinator Merle Illian at (402) 746-4558.

The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.