VALENTINE, Neb. - Valentine City Council members heard about possible options for the future of the dam at Mill Pond at their Thursday night meeting. While these three options are not the only possible outcomes, the Middle Niobrara Natural Resources District (MNNRD) hired an engineer to evaluate potential solutions to remove jurisdictional requirements. The engineer came up with three options ranging from several hundred thousand dollars to more than $3 million:

  • Full decommissioning – Removing the dam entirely, estimated at $3.28 million.
  • Partial rehabilitation – Keeping the structure in place with water flowing over it but no longer considered a functioning dam, at a cost of $591,000.
  • Full rehabilitation – Restoring the dam to the condition it was a couple of years ago, reducing its hazard level from high to significant, for $423,000.

“There’s no issue with the dam failing, but right now it’s considered a high hazard,” said Valentine City Manager Shane Siewert.

Dams in Nebraska are categorized by the potential of loss of life and damages to property if the dam were to fail. High hazard is a classification that designates that the failure or misoperation of the dam could possibly result in human death.

The City of Valentine and the MNNRD split the cost of hiring the engineer.

Across Nebraska, many watershed structures are in need of repairs. According to a recent report by Nebraska’s Natural Resources District, more than half (57.7% or 427 dams) of the state’s dams have exceeded their economic service life of 50 years and may require rehabilitation to ensure public safety. The report says that on average each dam needs $1.56 million for repairs.

Mill Pond, also known as Minnechaduza Lake, was created in 1890 when S.F. Gilman of Neligh, Nebraska, built a dam across Minnechaduza Creek to power a flour mill. The mill operated until the mid-1930s, and the lake became a hub for fishing, swimming, and even ice harvesting for the railroad. A major renovation in 2002 added fishing docks and a boat ramp, making it a popular recreation spot.

Mill Pond is also notable for being one of only two dams in the world that utilize both a Labyrinth Weir and an Ogee spillway—a rare combination in dam engineering.