Credit: City of Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln, Nebraska — home to both DWFI and the Nebraska Water Center (NWC) — is projecting population growth that will exceed its current water system. The city has adequate supply for the next 20 to 25 years but planning is needed to prepare for the future.
In 2022, Lincoln’s Mayor, Leirion Gaylor Baird, and the City of Lincoln considered options to support its water needs for years to come. Chittaranjan Ray, director of the Nebraska Water Center, was selected to serve on the Mayor’s Water Source Advisory Council to advise decision-makers in the search for a secondary water source for Lincoln. Dr. Ray joined representatives from natural resources groups, as well as business and community leaders. The project, titled “Water 2.0: Securing Lincoln’s Second Source,” is the largest public works project to date supporting Lincoln’s health, growth, and vitality into the future.
Credit: Lincoln Journal Star
The city’s existing infrastructure for clean, safe drinking water consists of wells built on the Platte River near Ashland in 1932. Current projections estimate the existing wellfield is adequate to supply drinking water for the next 26 years. A secondary water source is needed to support future generations of Lincolnites in the following decades.
In February 2023, after input from the advisory council and others, the City of Lincoln announced their decision to undertake a $1.39 billion project to create a well field along the Missouri River and build an underground pipeline to Lincoln. This plan was selected by considering a combination of environmental factors, previous flood and drought events in the Lincoln area, and the overall cost of the project. Construction is expected to be completed by 2048 and the new well field is projected to support Lincoln’s water needs until at least 2075.
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