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Infrastructure Success on Salt Creek
Stevens Creek A17-1, located 4 miles east of Lincoln, is one of the 180 flood control dams owned and operated by the Lower Platte South NRD.
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ebraska’s recent floods devastated the areas around the Missouri, the Platte, and Nebraska’s other major rivers. Lincoln, the state capital, however, emerged relatively unscathed. Part of the reason for this was the successful performance of the flood control structures on the Salt Creek. These structures are operated by the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (NRD). In this interview, Paul Zillig, general manager of the Lower Platte South NRD, speaks with Municipal Water Leader Managing Editor Joshua Dill about the district’s experiences during the flood event and its lessons learned. Joshua Dill: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
Joshua Dill: Would you tell us about the history of the Lower Platte South NRD?
20 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Joshua Dill: How big is your service area? Paul Zillig: Our NRD covers 1 million acres, so we’re one of the smaller NRDs in the state. We cover parts of six different counties, including the city of Lincoln. NRD boundaries closely follow watershed boundaries, so we include the Salt Creek and Weeping Water watersheds along with a few other smaller watersheds along the lower Platte River. The population of our NRD was 314,000 as of the last census, but today it is probably closer to 350,000, with Lincoln’s population nearing 300,000.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOWER PLATTE SOUTH NRD.
Paul Zillig: I been working for the Lower Platte South NRD for 40 years. I went to the University of Nebraska, where I majored in natural resources and agricultural economics. When I started here in 1979, the NRD had a staff of about six people. Since then, I’ve been involved in pretty much every aspect of what the NRD does. I served as assistant manager for 34 years and the last 3 years as general manager.
Paul Zillig: Nebraska’s NRDs started in 1972, when the Nebraska Legislature decided to consolidate the 180 existing special purpose districts around the state into the current 23 NRDs. The state gave the NRDs a dozen statutory responsibilities and authority on pretty much all aspects of natural resources management, including flood control, groundwater management, erosion control, water supply, drainage and stream stability, recreation, forestry, and fish and wildlife habitat. It also gave them the authority to levy a property tax. The state required that each NRD had a locally elected board of directors to set priorities, hire staff, and make local decisions concerning the budget, the tax levy, and projects and programs.
