Papio NRD Board Decreases Property Tax Levy – Lowest in 25 Years

At its September 12th meeting, the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (Papio NRD) Board of Directors voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2025 general operating budget that includes a significant decrease in the Papio NRD property tax levy.

Papio NRD Board of Directors

“Again, the District has prepared a budget that reduces the tax levy to its lowest in 25 years while funding the increasing need for additional flood mitigation, water quality, recreation opportunities, maintenance of aging infrastructure, and erosion control,” said Tim McCormick, chairman of the Papio NRD Board of Directors. “The system was tested by this past year’s record storms and worked as designed but is at its capacity. As our region develops, additional capacity is required to provide adequate flood mitigation. I commend the District’s ability to do so much while holding tax requests in check,” said McCormick.

For 19 out of 20 years, the Papio NRD has either decreased or kept the property tax levy the same. This fiscal year’s total tax request is 2.5% above last year’s budget. The District will drop its property tax mill levy by 5.61% this fiscal year.

“The Papio NRD clearly understands that high property valuation assessments and taxes are negatively impacting many of our constituents’ finances,” said John Winkler, general manager of the Papio NRD. “Through consistent, methodical and conservative financial and operational management, as well as, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding and cost shares over the last twenty years, this budget allows the Papio NRD to once again lower its property tax levy while simultaneously funding critical public safety projects and programs,” said Winkler.

Winkler says over the last five years the Papio NRD’s actual tax request increase has been below inflation and averaged five to ten percent below the average assessed valuation increase.

The Papio NRD’s FY25 property tax levy would drop to 0.029568 per $100 of assessed valuation from the District’s FY24 property tax levy of 0.031324 per $100 of assessed valuation. Under this budget, a homeowner in the District with property valued at $150,000 would pay $44.36 a year or $3.70 a month in property taxes next year to support Papio NRD projects, programs, and services. The budget calls for an estimated $31.5 million in revenue from the Papio NRD’s property tax levy. The total operating budget is estimated at $118.3 million.

The property tax levy is based on an estimated 8.6% increase in valuations across the District, which includes all of Sarpy, Douglas, Washington, and Dakota counties, plus the eastern 60% of Burt and Thurston counties.

The Papio NRD receives less than 2% of all property taxes collected within the District’s six-county area. The remaining 98% goes to schools, cities, counties, and other taxing entities.

 

Water Safe to Drink: Washington County Rural Water Systems

The Papio NRD received water quality lab test results today that indicate no E. coli in Washington County Rural Water Systems #1 and #2  (WCRW), so the water is safe to consume. This is also the case for our wholesale customers of Ft. Calhoun and Lakeland Estates Water Company.

Due to an E. coli-positive result from the City of Blair water system, the Papio NRD isolated all WCRW customers from the Blair water supply Wednesday night and started providing water from Metropolitan Utilities District.

WCRW will continue testing and monitoring the situation to continue providing safe water to all of our customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover Crop Roller Crimper Now Available to Farmers

A roller crimper, an alternative mechanical method to terminate cover crops without herbicides, is now available for farmers in and around Washington County. By crimping cover crops and rolling them over like a blanket on a field, it can improve weed suppression and reduce moisture evaporation from the soil.

Grant funding from the EPA, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) and the Papio NRD for practices relating to water quality improvements enabled the recent acquisition of the roller crimper.

It’s available to local farmers for use at a low cost of $1/acre (to address routine maintenance). Farmers who may be hesitant about this practice are encouraged to try it on a few acres initially to make their own judgement and consider it a potential future investment.

To learn more about the roller crimper and cost-share on eligible conservation practices, contact Armando Zarco with the Papio NRD at 402-350-3695 or azarco@papionrd.org.

To schedule the roller crimper, contact Phil Kempcke at 402-533-3122 or Nate Kempcke at 402-278-0584 with Kempcke Seeds in Blair.

 

 

What’s in the water we can’t see below ground?

By Paul W. Woodward
Papio-Missouri River NRD – Groundwater Management Engineer

Ever wonder what materials or possible contaminants are contained within the water that exists below ground?  No need to guess!  The Papio NRD and many other federal, state and local agencies actively monitor the quality of our local groundwater to check that it is generally safe for drinking water and many other uses.

But first, what is groundwater, or what is an aquifer?  Groundwater is any water that is contained within the openings, or voids, below ground.  These voids are typically very small and only occur between soil particles, such as clay, silt, sand and gravel.  An aquifer is a geologic layer or strata of water-bearing material from which groundwater can be extracted.  Groundwater is usually extracted by pumping it from a well and the best producing aquifers in our area are found in layers of sand, gravel, and sometimes sandstone.  Our District has four primary aquifer systems: the Platte and Elkhorn River alluvium, the Missouri River alluvium, the upland alluvial or glacial deposits, and the Dakota Formation sandstone.

The Papio NRD has worked with the U.S. Geological Survey since 1992 to sample and test the groundwater from various aquifers throughout our District.  Today, this sampling is performed bi-annually from dedicated monitoring wells owned by the NRD across our six-county area.  Additionally, one of the four primary aquifers is selected each year and 20 to 25 samples are obtained (primarily from private domestic wells) and tested.

Water quality results are reviewed each year by NRD staff and our Board of Directors.  “For the most part, groundwater quality across the NRD remains good,” says Paul Woodward, Groundwater Management Engineer for the Papio NRD. “During the past several years, the NRD has reacted to low-level nitrate contamination concerns near Tekamah and Springfield by declaring Phase II Groundwater Quality Management Areas.  These Phase II areas calculate and track nitrogen fertilizer applications as well as implement other best management practices,” says Woodward.

Results from the groundwater quality testing are made available through the USGS National Water Information System at https://maps.waterdata.usgs.gov/mapper/index.html.

For local cities and public water systems, groundwater quality is sampled and tested in accordance with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.  Anybody can access water quality testing data for municipalities or Rural Water Districts by going to https://sdwis-dhhs.ne.gov/. Every person has the ultimate responsibility to research and understand how the quality of the water you use may affect your health.  In areas where no public data is available, especially for private domestic wells, it is recommended that each home and well owner have their well sampled and tested each year, primarily for bacteria and nitrates.

The Papio NRD offers assistance to private landowners who need help sampling and testing their domestic well.  If you need information or even test kits, you can contact Paul Woodward at 402-315-1772 or the Dakota City field office at 402-494-4949, Extension 3.

 

 

 

Papio NRD Seeks Input from Washington County Farmers on Incentives Program

The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District is seeking feedback from Washington County farm owner-operators on a new incentives program for farmstead improvements and agricultural enhancements.

The program is intended be a flagship example of conservation-based water quality improvement for the state of Nebraska by reversing watershed impairment in the Papillion Creek Watershed through the reduction of nutrient, sediment, and E. coli loading.

“The best way to make this incentives program truly beneficial to farmers is to collaborate directly with them,” said Kyle Madsen, watershed coordinator for the Papio NRD. “We want their help in devising incentives they find attractive to implement water quality improvement practices throughout the watershed.”

Madsen says the next few months will be devoted to gathering public feedback necessary to develop a comprehensive and successful program.

Special incentives are available to stakeholders in various parts of Washington County for the following practices/improvements:

Septic system upgrades/replacements

General Conservation Reserve Program

Pollinator planting

Riparian buffer/filter strips

Sediment control basins

Wet detention basins

Livestock exclusion areas

Cover crops

Terraces

Grant funding for the program is provided by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. The program will be available through December 2022.

For questions and information on eligibility, please contact Madsen at (402) 350-3695 or kmadsen@papionrd.org.

 

 

 

 

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