A proposal to dredge a new, major lake along the Platte River between Omaha and Lincoln drew a load of questions and no clear answers last week from cities, conservationists and a landowner who might be in the project’s path.

Some of the organizations said they didn’t outright oppose the idea but raised concerns about the potential lake’s impact on the river and surrounding area. Conservationists said they were worried about the impact on wildlife and the environment, while water regulators from Omaha and Lincoln raised concerns about how it might affect their water supplies.

“Overall, there are simply too few details available about how the bill would change the hydrology and ecology of the river,” said Melissa Mosier, the Platte River manager for the conservation group Audubon Nebraska.

Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers, the measure’s sponsor, acknowledged last Thursday that more studies are needed before the state moves forward. Hilgers said the package already includes money to conduct those reviews, and he cautioned that many things could derail the project before it begins.

“We need answers before we do a project of this magnitude,” he said in testimony to the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee.

The Omaha-Lincoln lake measure is part of a larger package, backed by Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, that would spend an estimated $200 million on water projects around the state. The proposal also calls for a marina and road improvements at Lake McConaughy State Recreational Area in western Nebraska, and a visitor’s lodge and other upgrades at Niobrara State Park. Both of those proposals won strong public support at Thursday’s hearing, with one supporter calling the Niobrara plan a “slam dunk” for northeast Nebraska.

A special legislative committee endorsed the Omaha-Lincoln lake idea in January as a way to boost the state economy and promote tourism.

State officials haven’t settled on an exact location, but the roughly 3,600-acre lake would likely sit near Mahoney State Park, a popular state campground, and reach 30 feet deep. One artist’s rendering shows the lake between Gretna and Ashland, on the eastern side of the Platte River and north of Interstate 80.

Hilgers has said the lake could rival western Iowa’s West Okoboji Lake, one of the state’s biggest tourism destinations.

The Omaha-Lincoln lake would also require private investments, as state officials have said they aren’t going to commit tax dollars to develop the area around it.

Rick Kubat, a lobbyist for Omaha’s Metropolitan Utilities District, said the city water provider is concerned about the project’s potential impact on drinking water.

“It’s our contention that step one, the very first thing we should do, is take a deep dive into the consequences in terms of public water supply,” Kubat said.

Al Davis, a former state lawmaker and lobbyist for the Sierra Club in Nebraska, questioned the wisdom of the estimated $71.1 million project, saying it would likely benefit wealthier residents who could afford lakefront homes.

Davis said lawmakers “should really focus on the preservation of natural surroundings” and said the lake would likely get flooded by the Platte River unless officials build large levees along the river.

John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, said his group supports the development projects in western and northern Nebraska but said the Lincoln-Omaha lake “seems a lot more environmentally suspect.”

The project also worried Dan Bundy, a landowner whose property could be in the lake’s path. Bundy said he and his neighbors quickly figured out that their properties would be submerged if the artist’s rendering becomes a reality, and he raised concerns that the state wouldn’t compensate him fairly.

“There is little doubt that there could be a huge windfall for the state of Nebraska and property owners who have property around the lake,” he said. “But what about those of us, including myself and my family, who would be under the lake?”