Red Willow Dam meeting set next week

GRAND ISLAND -- The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has announced that a public meeting Thursday, Feb. 18 in McCook will help inform the public about current issues related to the Red Willow Dam.

It will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Community Building on the Red Willow County Fairgrounds.

A number of reclamation officials will be on hand to provide information and address questions about the dam that the public may have.

The lake was drained after officials discovered cracking in the embankment near the spillway.

Blocking Red Willow Creek about 11 miles north of McCook, the dam is an earthfill embankment with a structural height of 126 feet that forms a reservoir of 85,070 acre-feet. An ungated concrete spillway is located in the right abutment. An outlet works through the base of the dam provides for river and irrigation releases for downstream diversions.

Reclamation has established a Web page at www.usbr.gov/gp/nkao/redwillow/ to provide the public with the most up-to-date information available. Users can register at Reclamation site to receive e-mail or text updates as new information becomes available.