River levels drop briefly

As a result of levee breaches in Atchison and Holt counties, the Missouri River in St. Joseph saw levels drop Friday.

Bill Brinton, emergency management director for Buchanan County, said he received news around 10 p.m. Thursday that the Sugar Lake levee, south of St. Joseph, was overtopping, which resulted in the brief closure of some roads. But by Friday morning, the forecast had changed.

“The National Weather Service, on their hydrology website, said it was going to go down to 21 feet earlier (Friday), but then they changed it and said it was going to be 22 feet. So we’re just watching and waiting on the reduction,” Mr. Brinton said.

The water never dipped to 22 feet, but did lower a foot between Thursday and Friday, to 25½ feet. Earlier in the week, there were fears that the river level could reach 27 feet at St. Joseph.

Mr. Brinton said any breach to the north would take the pressure off the river in St. Joseph, but not for an extended period of time. The National Weather Service forecast indicated the river will stay at around 25½ feet until Sunday, when it will start increasing. By Monday, the river is forecast to be above 27 feet.

“I don’t think we’re out of the clear. It’s just we don’t have as much water to deal with right now,” Mr. Brinton said. “We’re still sandbagging down here, so we’re glad to have less water.”

Mr. Brinton said sandbagging is still taking place at the Sugar Lake levee. He said during the past three days, 50,000 to 60,000 sandbags were placed on top of the levee.

Doris Delzeit, assistant city clerk of Wathena, Kan., said the river level is posted on the front door of the Wathena City Hall once a day, but it hasn’t been high enough for evacuations yet.

She said the mandatory evacuation will start if the river reaches 30 feet. Utilities will be shut off at the discretion of local officials.

Lewis and Clark State Park, located near Rushville, is temporarily closed as of Friday because of floodwaters from the Missouri River.

“We have been watching the water levels and monitoring forecasts to determine if and when water will affect Lewis and Clark State Park,” said Bill Bryan, Missouri State Parks director, in a press release. “Because of rising water levels in Lewis and Clark Lake, we decided to close the park immediately.”

Campers were relocated to Weston Bend State Park. It is unknown when the park will reopen.

Cooper Nuclear Station Missouri River Flood 1994

24 June 2011. New York Times report, 24 June 2011, on flooding disputes between NRC and nuclear plant operators along the Missouri River:

Http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/06/24/24climatewire-a-nuclear-plants-flood-defenses-trigger-a-
ye-95418.html

A sends:

Cooper Nuclear Station Missouri River Flood 1994

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/info-notices/1994/in94027.html UNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 March 31, 1994 NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 94-27: FACILITY OPERATING CONCERNS RESULTING FROM LOCAL AREA FLOODING Addressees All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power reactors. Purpose The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice to alert addressees to emergency preparedness, equipment operability and radiological control problems that may result from local area flooding. It is expected that recipients will review the information for applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, suggestions contained in this information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required. Background The Cooper Nuclear Station is located between Nemaha and Brownville, Nebraska and is adjacent to the Missouri River. The facility floor and plant grade elevations are about 275 meters [903 feet] above mean sea level. The elevation of the area surrounding the plant is about 271.3 meters [890 feet] and the area is protected by a levee to an elevation of 274.9 meters [902 feet]. The normal groundwater table is 267.9 meters [879 feet]. The level for the 1000-year flood and the 10,000-year flood are predicted to be 274.3 and 274.9 meters [900 and 902 feet], respectively. During this event, the Missouri River peaked at 274.6 meters [900.8 feet]. Description of Circumstances During the months of June and July 1993, the State of Nebraska and several surrounding states experienced record rainfalls that caused flooding over extensive areas. In accordance with plant flood procedures, the licensee for the Cooper Nuclear Station had placed barriers around the entrances to the reactor building, the radwaste building, the turbine building and the diesel generator rooms when the water level in the Missouri River reached 273.4 meters [897 feet].

Saturday morning: Missouri River levels near Fort Calhoun and Cooper Nuclear Station:

RT Saturday morning: Missouri River levels near Fort Calhoun and Cooper Nuclear Station

Saturday morning: Missouri River levels near Fort Calhoun and Cooper Nuclear Station

RT : Missouri River levels dangerously high, Listen to watches and warning issued by National Weather Service and Local Emergency Responders

RT : Missouri River levels dangerously high, Listen to watches and warning issued by National Weather Service and Local Emergency Responders

Missouri River Planning, Recognizing and Incorporating Sediment Management

These changes in Missouri River sediment processes have greatly affected near- shore ... Lower river levels also cause problems at intakes for municipal and ...

Congressional Record

The bottleneck needs the higher Missouri River flow to sustain barge traffic. ... river level could also greatly disrupt nesting burdens below Gavins Dam. ...

Congressional edition

It may be objected that this test cannot be applied to levels run as the Missouri River levels were run. This is a fair objection; but as the first line and ...

Annual report of the Secretary of War

Our ordinary level value of Missouri Elver Commission bench mark at mouth of Missouri River differs from their determinatum of it by 2 feet. nswu CJperience ...

Study of effects of channel stabilization and navigation project on Missouri River levels, sediment characteristics of Missouri River, Sioux City to the mouth