WAHOO - A bald eagle circled above the dump trucks, scrapers and bulldozers by the earthen dam as if on a recon mission for new fishing grounds.

It won't have to wait much longer.

Dirt work on the dam is about 70 percent complete, and the new Lake Wanahoo should start filling with water in 2010.

"They are way ahead of schedule. They think they will have the dam closed later this year," said John Miyoshi, general manager of the Wahoo-based Lower Platte North Natural Resources District.

The 3,700-foot-long dam was scheduled to be done by August 2010.

Miyoshi credited the weather and Commercial Contractors of Lincoln, which moved 1.4 million cubic yards of dirt for the dam.

When full, Lake Wanahoo should cover about 640 acres, stretch about two miles and have a maximum depth of about 40 feet.

The public lake about a mile north of Wahoo will offer fishing, RV and tent camping, no-wake boating, youth/mentor hunting and recreational trails.

The NRD had to acquire 1,600 acres of mostly farm ground from 16 landowners. Only one fought the acquisition and the district had to use its condemnation powers.

More than a decade in the making, the lake is viewed as a flood-control project and a recreational magnet that will draw from Lincoln and Omaha, both 25 minutes away.

"Seventy-five percent of the state's population lives within a 50-mile radius of this lake," project coordinator Mike Murren said on a recent tour.

In addition to recreation, the lake may give the community an economic boost. A smattering of luxury homes already have been built on its western edge.

The public is not allowed in the construction area for safety reasons. But the NRD recently gave about 165 members of the Saunders County Livestock Feeders Association a close-up view of the dam and its soon-to-be completed concrete emergency spillway, which can handle runoff from a 500-year storm.

Lake Wanahoo is the centerpiece of a $30.5 million project to control flooding in the 87-square-mile Sand Creek Watershed and provide traffic, recreational and environmental benefits.

"There's times Wahoo is just an island," said Murren, referring to chronic flood damage from Sand Creek, Wahoo Creek and Cottonwood Creek - all of which meet below this city of 3,681 people.

The project won't solve all of the community's flood problems but will help prevent about $234,000 in flood damage annually, Murren and Miyoshi said.

Sand Creek is not far from U.S. 77 and Nebraska 92, both on the northeast edge of Wahoo. Portions of those two highways flood several times a year, Miyoshi said, and Lake Wanahoo should solve that problem.

Once the dam is finished, work will begin on the U.S. 77 bypass that will skirt the west and north sides of Wahoo.

Part of the road will be built on the north face of the dam. Dirt work will be done next year and concrete poured in 2011.

The Nebraska Department of Roads contributed $3.5 million to the project, Murren said, about equal to what it saved by putting the road in front of the dam. Otherwise, the agency would have had to build bridges and do the dirt work itself.

Miyoshi said Lake Wanahoo and the U.S. 77 bypass will be completed at the same time, so they will both be open to the public in the spring of 2012.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will manage Lake Wanahoo as a state recreation area, with day-use areas, 60 full-service RV pads and a primitive tent-camping area.

A breakwater feature already has been built in the middle of the lake to reduce wave-action. It features a 110-foot-long pedestrian bridge already used by locals. A large sediment trap was built nearby to keep the water as clear as possible. To control erosion, no jet skis or power boats will be allowed.

The northern part of the lake is already home to deer, herons and swallows, who built mud nests under the pedestrian bridge. Cottonwoods and other trees will be left standing to enhance the fishery.

The lake will be stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, walleye and channel catfish. Crappie will join them three years later.

In an effort to further reduce flooding and sediment and nutrient runoff, the NRD built four small dams upstream from Lake Wanahoo on Sand Creek. Three more small dams will be built on Duck Creek. Total cost for all seven sites is $3 million.

One of the key goals of the Lake Wanahoo project is environmental restoration. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is spending $10.5 million to help restore degraded wetland areas unique to the area.

"Over 95 percent of the riparian wetlands have been lost due to the straightening of Sand Creek," Miyoshi said.

Water stored in Lake Wanahoo also will be used to help the endangered pallid sturgeon in the Platte River. Annual releases of 400 acre feet of water are planned between February and June to compensate for water that would have flowed down Sand Creek to Wahoo Creek and eventually to the Platte, where the bald eagle probably makes its home.

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 402-473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.