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Saturday
Jul022011

Could levee failures upstream plunge Ft. Calhoun into deeper risk?

According to local television news reports, a levee near the Ft. Calhoun nuclear power plant was intentionally breached on Friday in an effort to drain flooded farm fields. But the released water then flowed back into the Missouri River, raising its flood level by an un-reported amount. Federal, state, and county government authorities disclaim any involvement in the levee breach, leaving the local levee control board to answer questions. This raises another "what if" regarding flooding risks at Ft. Calhoun: what if private individuals upstream, taking matters into their own hands, decide to breach levees to save homes or crops from pent up floodwaters? Could the released water raise the flooding at the Ft. Calhoun atomic reactor yet higher, when there is only about 6 feet to spare before "all bets are off" on preventing flood waters from overwhelming vital safety and cooling systems?