Floodwaters Keep Nebraska's Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station Offline After Planned Outage

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Researched by Industrial Information Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station, owned and operated by Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) (Omaha, Nebraska), remains offline due to the rising floodwaters of the Missouri River. OPPD has declared it an "unusual event," which is considered the lowest level of emergency with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This declaration occurred as a result of water from the Missouri River that continues to rise around the site. The plant took extra precautions by placing barriers around the perimeter and removing equipment that could be damaged or cause a safety hazard. Many of the personnel have been transferred to other OPPD locations until the rising water recedes.

The plant has been offline since early May because of a refueling outage that was almost complete when the flooding began. Currently, all work has been suspended until further notice. Plant officials stated that the refuel will resume when water levels are safe. The question now is how long will it take for the water to recede and the plant return to operation? OPPD will continue to access and monitor the situation daily.

Fort Calhoun is located on 660 acres between Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, and Blair, Nebraska, adjacent to the Missouri River. The utility has an easement for another 580 acres, which is maintained in a natural state.

Fort Calhoun has one Combustion Engineering pressurized water reactor that generates 500 megawatts of electricity. This is currently the smallest-rated capacity among all operating commercial nuclear reactors in North America.

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