LINCOLN - A large reservoir between Omaha and Lincoln funded by federal coronavirus recovery assistance is on the table for possible consideration.

The potential project could benefit recreation, tourism, flood control, economic development and water sustainability. Other potential projects, including Lake McConaughy, Niobrara State Park, and Lewis and Clark Lake, are on the legislative study committee's project list as well.

"It's a concept now, not a proposal," Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers of Lincoln, chairman of the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resources Sustainability, or STAR WARS, Committee, emphasized during an interview in his Capitol office.

Hilgers also noted that Governor Pete Ricketts has been kept closely informed on the developing concept.

However, many questions regarding the impact of the reservoir have yet to be answered. The potential impact on water supply or the environment could prevent a great idea from coming to fruition, said Hilgers.

Multiple proposals have been made for a lake between Lincoln and Omaha in the past 50 years. Multiple of these would have done so by constructing a dam on the Platte River and rivers nearby, which would have resulted in flooding Ashland.

This time is different. "Absolutely no impact on Ashland or other areas that are being developed around Ashland," he said. "No flooding and no dams."

The committee would ideally meet again before November's end and have a finished proposal by mid-December before the 2022 Legislature convenes, but Hilgers recognizes that "it could take longer."

$1 billion of federal pandemic recovery funding, accompanied by Governor Ricketts and senators finishing out their terms, is a recipe for action within the state, says Hilgers.

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