USA: Draft Feasibility Report for Scribner Project Available for Review

A draft feasibility report and environmental assessment for stream bank restoration near Scribner, Neb. is currently available for public review. The report identifies alternatives to provide stream bank protection to prohibit rapid erosion on the east bank of the Elkhorn River, Dodge County, Neb. Public infrastructure being protected includes County Road F and the bridge.

“The draft feasibility report and environmental assessment is the result of a comprehensive study conducted by the Corps in cooperation with the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District who is the project sponsor, Dodge County Roads Department, and the city of Scribner,” said Gwyn Jarrett, project manager. “The study was carried out under Section 14 of the Flood Control Act of 1946, as amended.”

Section 14 provides the Corps with authority to study, adopt, and construct emergency stream bank and shoreline protection projects to protect public highways and bridges, other public works, and nonprofit public services such as churches, hospitals, and schools and other non-profit facilities offering public services.

BACKGROUND

The Elkhorn River is a meandering stream with extremely flat gradients and very small channel capacities in relation to its drainage area. Rainfall in the spring often combines with annual plains snowmelt to produce floods that exceed the Elkhorn’s channel capacities and spread onto the broad floodplain. As a result, rapid erosion, which is occurring along the stream bank, is threatening the County Road F Bridge including the road approach and bridge abutments.

Alternatives outlined in the draft report include spur dikes, stone toe revetment, and sheet pile walls. Benefits of the project would include preserving an important farm-to-market route between Scribner and its market area on the east side of the Elkhorn River, and avoiding a costly bridge repair over the Elkhorn River.

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Press Release, August 23, 2013