McGill Shots

Hammond Dam in the flood of 2005. The south wing wall is in tact. In 2008, during another flood, the wall was moved, exposing a deadly chemical to fish and wildlife.

I was going to get a photo of the 2005 flood damage wherever I could. I liked this photo, but I couldn't publish it large enough to show it off in the newspaper.

This photo was taken to show the hydro-electric building is still standing at Hammond Dam, named after the man that maintained the electric plant, which was constructed in 1911. It was on the Nebraska Historical Society's radar, but the requirements to become a historical marker are complicated.

Blue Bluffs Dam, located on the Big Blue River, was ridden with debris because Nebraska Game and Parks did not maintain it. It was a Wildlife Management Area. The result was heavy rains eroding the banks around the bridge in June, July and October of 2008, costing taxpayers nearly $500,000.

Through the rains, the grassy area separated from the hydro-electric building, constructed in 1911. Then, a neighboring farmer took an excavator to the site. Backed-up debris caused the water to circle around the south side of the dam and eat into his crops. The excavator caused much erosion, especially around the bridge, built in 1993 and a thoroughfare for area farmers. The erosion affected the bridge's stabilization.

A construction company hired by Nebraska Game and Parks razes the 1911 building that housed hydro-electric power. Two turbines, still in tact, were removed from the building.