NEBRASKA /A.P. NEWS
BIG MAC UP, INFLOW SLOW
By John Axtell and Associated Press
Mar 3, 2010 - 7:29:16 PM

     Laek McConaughy...Nebraska's biggest lake...continues to rebound from its drought-triggered historic low water levels of recent years, but lower-than-normal inflows on the North Platte River could keep it from reaching its expected peak this year.

     Holdrege-based Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District...which created the lake with the Kingsley Dam...says Big Mac is over 14-feet higher than at this time last year and is at 65% of capacity at a little over 1.1-million acre feet of water.. about 300,000 more than last year.

     On the other hand, inflows are just 80-to-85% of normal...and if that pace continues, the summer peak would be about 1-1/2 feet lower than the previous projection of 3,251 feet above sea level.

     The snowpack in the Rocky Mountains is also down at 83-to-86% of normal, but officials say spring storms could easily bring both the snowpack and inflows at Lake McConaughy back to or even above normal.

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