Just in [ Blair is home to nuke plant Ft. Calhoun] –
Blair update: The Missouri River is now expected to rise 2 feet higher at Blair, Neb., than experts predicted previously. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it revised its prediction for the river near Blair because of new information it received about how fast the water is moving at that point. The Corps now says the river will rise to between 32 and 34 feet next week after releases from Gavins Point Dam increase to 150,000 cubic feet per second. The river at Blair was already at 30.16 feet Friday. That’s well above the flood stage of 26.5 feet. The Corps says the gauge at Blair doesn’t collect data on the flow rate, so a team was sent out to collect that. This adjustment doesn’t affect other locations on the river.
this looks dubious:
Gauge malfunction causes ‘bad data” on river level
Missouri River flood closes 100 miles of bridges
Nebraska Nuke Plant Owners Tell Management To Buy Anything They Need To Ward Off Rising Floodwaters [!!!]
The owners of the flood-threatened Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant in Nebraska assert that everything is under control.
But just to be sure, they are allowing the plant’s management to skip the normal procurement process and buy anything it might need to protect Fort Calhoun from the still-rising waters of the flooded Missouri River. . . (more)
http://www.businessinsider.com/nebraska-nuke-plant-owners-tell-management-to-buy-anything-they-need-to-ward-off-rising-floodwaters-2011-6
Flood threatened Cooper Station nuke plant has flood water 18 inches away from catastrophe. Barely missed a shut down due to flood containment breach. Story here –
Missouri River falls short of Nebraska nuke plant shutdown
OR
WAS it 3 INCHES???
“By Sunday evening, the water level was only about 3 inches below
the level at which Nebraska Public Power District said the plant
would have to be shut down.”
A summary is here –
The flood waters in the Missouri continue to pose a danger to the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant
Rising water, falling journalism
By Dawn Stover
Every evening, my father climbs the levee along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and peers down into the black water that swallows the road. The water is rising, and the Army Corps of Engineers says the levee has never faced such a test. Dad, a retired professor, is packing his books and papers. If the levee doesn’t hold, his one-story house could be underwater for months.
A little farther up the Missouri, at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station near Blair, Nebraska, the river is already lapping at the Aqua Dams — giant plastic tubes filled with water — that form a stockade around the plant’s buildings. The plant has become an island. . .
. . . . Almost every article about the fire and power loss at Fort Calhoun has quoted an OPPD spokesman who said that a diesel-powered backup pump was “available” but not needed. None of these articles, however, told readers how much diesel fuel is stored at the plant, how many generators and batteries are on site, and how long they could keep coolant circulating through both the reactor and spent-fuel pool. For the record, there are two emergency diesel generators at Fort Calhoun. According to Dricks, there is usually enough fuel on site to provide cooling for two weeks, but currently the plant has sufficient fuel for four weeks. Of course, the average newspaper reader would never know any of that or be privy to the timeline of potential events. . .
http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/dawn-stover/rising-water-falling-journalism
These 2 can be bookmarked:
The Desmoines Register has updates and lots of video & photos.
Omaha.com has updates on Omaha area (2 nukes in danger).
This news item elicits real concerns for safety in the COMMENTS section –
http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/Ft_Calhoun_Flood_Defenses_123878599.html?storySection=comments
SYNDEY INDY MEDIA WEBSITE GOES DOWN after this article is posted:
Missouri River floods endanger nuclear power plants – time for climate adaption
Sydney Indymedia – Jun 19, 2011
The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant in the midwest state of Nebraska was protected by sandbag levies and is now surrounded by flood waters. The reactor has been in cold shutdown mode since April 9 while being refueled. A “notification of unusual …
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