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Farmer urges Beatrice to fix erosion at Riverside Park; requests check dam and channel restoration
Summary
A Gage County landowner told the council Riverside Park outlet changes have accelerated erosion onto his farmland and asked the city to install a check dam, backfill an eroded channel and stabilize the city's slope with riprap.
Galen Regier told the Beatrice City Council on April 21 that river-channel work and trail construction at Riverside Park have altered water flow and caused progressive erosion into his adjoining farmland, and he asked the city to intervene by installing structures to stop further loss.
"These actions have caused a significant erosion of our property," Regier said during the public forum. He presented maps and photographs showing changes between a 1993 map and more recent maps and described three outlet alignments to the Big Blue River. Regier said the most recent channel, created during park development and trail construction, produced a head-cut that has deepened a midfield ditch and split his field.
Regier asked the council to take three actions: install a concrete drop structure, headwall, or check dam along the east property line where city-owned Riverside Park meets his land; backfill and restore the eroded channel so the field can be farmed as one piece again; and install riprap along the city's side of the channel to stabilize the slope and prevent further encroachment on private property.
He said he has raised the issue with city staff multiple times over the past 30 years without a lasting fix and has consulted NRCS, NRD and FSA staff in preparing maps and a proposal. Regier invited council members to visit the site to observe the erosion.
Council members did not take formal action during the meeting; the public forum is expressly for presentations and not for council discussion or action. City staff and councilors indicated the request would be reviewed following the meeting and returned for further consideration as appropriate.
