Missouri River

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Coyote
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Post by Coyote »

Here’s the Plan to Reduce the Flooding
WOWT wrote:Beginning Monday, the release from Gavins Point Dam will be reduced from 160,000 cubic feet per second to 150,000 cfs. Gavins Point Dam is the last in the series of dams and closest to Omaha. It will remain at that rate until approximately August 16. At that point, the flow will be stepped down 5,000 cfs daily until it reaches about 90,000 around August 27.

The Gavins Point Dam release will stay at 90,000 cfs about two weeks then drop 5,000 cfs every two days until it reaches 40,000 cfs around September 30. A release of 40,000 cfs is slightly above the typical release rate in the fall. The Corps expects the Missouri River to be back in its banks in Omaha by mid September. Sioux City is forecast to be below flood stage near the end of August.
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iamjacobm
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Post by iamjacobm »

The river should start dropping every single day now.
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Stargazer
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Post by Stargazer »

... revealing shocking scenes like this... I wouldn't expect to see I-29 being traversed before next summer at the earliest.

Image
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thenewguy
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Post by thenewguy »

a friend of mine took a picture similar to that. can't believe the damage is so bad, you just don't picture floods destroying roadways like that. I always picture homes, hill sides, etc going, but not roads.
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iamjacobm
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Post by iamjacobm »

WOWT has video of water sitting on the field at TD Ameritrade.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

iamjacobm wrote:WOWT has video of water sitting on the field at TD Ameritrade.
I hope its still there at noon when I am up in the Helicopter!
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skinzfan23
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Post by skinzfan23 »

Brad wrote:
iamjacobm wrote:WOWT has video of water sitting on the field at TD Ameritrade.
I hope its still there at noon when I am up in the Helicopter!
Looking at the city cams, it appears that the field is completely dry now, but the Qwest Center parking lot D is still under water.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

skinzfan23 wrote:Looking at the city cams, it appears that the field is completely dry now, but the Qwest Center parking lot D is still under water.
I just saw that. Check out the water around the tank field in the background.
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Post by Blade1655 »

Stargazer - approximately where on I-29 was that picture taken? Unbelievable!!
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Stargazer
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Post by Stargazer »

I believe it's looking north immediately north of the southern I-29/680 interchange (ie across from the Mormon Bridge).
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almighty_tuna
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Post by almighty_tuna »

Brad wrote:Another Round of flood aerials:
http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=11605
Did you contact your hosting company first this time? ;)
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Post by Brad »

almighty_tuna wrote:
Brad wrote:Another Round of flood aerials:
http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=11605
Did you contact your hosting company first this time? ;)
No... They don't help, they don't admit there is a problem, and they don't speak good English. They only thing they do well is raise my blood pressure.
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Post by theurge »

Didnt see this posted.

Might be a little late now, but just noticed that Eppley has a couple webcams from the airport on uStream for the flooding.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eppleyairfield - Runway/ramp area cam

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eppleyairfield3 - Terminal drive/passenger drop off cam

http://www.flyoma.com/component/content/article/32
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Post by MTO »

some shots from today


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AHPS has the level at about 30.5ft
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Post by almighty_tuna »

It's amazing how much things have changed after being gone for over a week. Thanks for the pics
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Post by Ben »

Its sort of a shame that they decided to build that drainage chute by the parks service they way they did. Had they gone directly east/west, and dumped directly into the river, I bet the landing could be open by now. I know that it was an emergency thing, and they wanted to get it built as soon as possible, but in hindsight, it would have been better going directly into the river.

The river has receded far enough that they could take the flood gates out. Problem is that the chute drains onto the landing, so until the remove the chute (scheduled for late fall - Oct/Nov timeframe), they can't even start landing clean up, as it'd be a hazard to be on the landing while that thing is going...
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Post by iamjacobm »

Ben wrote:Its sort of a shame that they decided to build that drainage chute by the parks service they way they did. Had they gone directly east/west, and dumped directly into the river, I bet the landing could be open by now. I know that it was an emergency thing, and they wanted to get it built as soon as possible, but in hindsight, it would have been better going directly into the river.

The river has receded far enough that they could take the flood gates out. Problem is that the chute drains onto the landing, so until the remove the chute (scheduled for late fall - Oct/Nov timeframe), they can't even start landing clean up, as it'd be a hazard to be on the landing while that thing is going...
I was just going to ask if there was any word on when the landing would be cleared. It sounds like not with the weather is still nice which is a bummer.
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Post by iamjacobm »

iamjacobm wrote:No I agree that there is a very real possibility of collapse, but I guess my thoughts on it are the river is at 33.89 feet. The corp are saying it should crest at 34 feet with normal rainfall and 36 is if this heavy rain year keeps up. So even if it gets to 35 there are 7 feet of levee above the crest. Now obviously it is possible that it breaks b/c it is earthen. Most shots of the levees breaking I have seen had the water were a few feet from the top, and the top is obviously the weakest part of the levee.

I am not betting either way, but my gut says they will hold this summer. I will be the first to say I was wrong if they don't though.
No longer above flood stage. Looks like my gut was right. :D
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Post by skinzfan23 »

Iowa DOT is using "lump sum" contract to speed up I-680 construction.

From the Nonpareil:

http://southwestiowanews.com/articles/2 ... 174203.txt
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iamjacobm
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Post by iamjacobm »

iamjacobm wrote:
Ben wrote:Its sort of a shame that they decided to build that drainage chute by the parks service they way they did. Had they gone directly east/west, and dumped directly into the river, I bet the landing could be open by now. I know that it was an emergency thing, and they wanted to get it built as soon as possible, but in hindsight, it would have been better going directly into the river.

The river has receded far enough that they could take the flood gates out. Problem is that the chute drains onto the landing, so until the remove the chute (scheduled for late fall - Oct/Nov timeframe), they can't even start landing clean up, as it'd be a hazard to be on the landing while that thing is going...
I was just going to ask if there was any word on when the landing would be cleared. It sounds like not with the weather is still nice which is a bummer.
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Lewi ... 13248.html


Lewis & Clark Landing To Open Friday
The city said it will reopen part of the landing Friday at 9 a.m.

Part of the landing will remain closed, the part with the Labor statue the furthest north. There is still more clean up to be done there.
GREAT NEWS!!!
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Post by nativeomahan »

Great to have the Landing back for everyone to use!
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Post by Brad »

When I flew back in to Eppley this weekend, there is still a whole lot of water out there! Its going to be a while before its all gone! It was nice seeing cars on 29 again!

Photos of the damage to the Canadian National Railroad are starting to roll in. Its not as bad as 680, but there are some bad spots. Initial "unconfirmed" reports are about 1 miles worth of washouts if you add up all the individual spots and about $2 million to fix it all.
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Post by TLGJames »

The river seems really low now. Anyone know what is up with the boat on the other side of the ped bridge on the land?
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Post by almighty_tuna »

TLGJames wrote:Anyone know what is up with the boat on the other side of the ped bridge on the land?
It's been sitting there for several weeks now. Just sort of showed up one day.
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Post by iamjacobm »

680 opened up today. Much faster than I assumed it would take.
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Post by Brad »

iamjacobm wrote:680 opened up today. Much faster than I assumed it would take.
Its amazing. The completely removed and rebuilt it in 34 days! I wish all projects went that fast!
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Post by thenewguy »

almighty_tuna wrote:
TLGJames wrote:Anyone know what is up with the boat on the other side of the ped bridge on the land?
It's been sitting there for several weeks now. Just sort of showed up one day.
Yeah it made its way there probably 4 or 5 months ago; it was there around the 4th of july, just harder to see.
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Post by Brad »

201 Days after the flooding closed their Fort Dodge to Council Bluffs Line, the Canadian National Railroad ran a train to Council Bluffs yesterday. A second train should arrive today (it may already be there). On Monday 12/26/2011 the embargo will be lifted and CN will once again serve its customers in Omaha 6 days a week.

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iamjacobm
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Post by iamjacobm »

It is a bit surreal to hang out by the river now. It almost feels too low after the amount of water that was coming down last summer.
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Post by Omababe »

iamjacobm wrote:It is a bit surreal to hang out by the river now. It almost feels too low after the amount of water that was coming down last summer.
If you venture down to the wetlands part of Fontenelle Forest or Hayworth Park, it's fairly easy to make out the "bathtub ring" indicating the high water point.

Scary, actually!
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Post by iamjacobm »

It is crazy to see how much foliage was torn away from the banks last summer.
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Post by Coyote »

What a difference a year makes: Missouri River levels plummet
NICK HYTREK @siouxcityjournal.com wrote:Last year, there was too much water. Next year, there may not be enough. As of Oct. 1, runoff for the year was 19 million acre-feet, just 77 percent of normal and well below last year's historic runoff of 61 million acre-feet. If drought conditions persist into next spring, releases will continue to be below normal, Farmer said, and that will affect the navigation channel from Sioux City to St. Louis. The navigation season could not only be shorter, but the channel would be only 8 feet deep rather than 9 feet, forcing river barges to carry lighter loads.
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Post by advcomp2019 »

This is some good news while being some bad news at the same time: http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/ ... 6b5f2.html

I know it is not in Omaha metro, but I thought it would go nice with this thread.
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Post by Brad »

Missouri River concerns shift from flooding to fading supply

http://www.southwestiowanews.com/counci ... f887a.html
nonpareilonline.com wrote:Jody Farhat, chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, said winter releases from Gavins Point will be targeted at minimum levels, averaging close to 12,000 cubic feet per second from December through the end of February, and temporary increases above 12,000 cfs may be necessary to keep water intakes along the lower river operational, particularly during periods of ice formation.

During the previous two winters, Gavins Point releases were between 19,000 and 22,000 cfs while stored floodwater was evacuated. Farhat said normal winter releases are generally scheduled near 17,000 cfs.
nonpareilonline.com wrote:Wednesday afternoon the Missouri River was still flowing at 15.3 feet by Council Bluffs, with 36,500 cfs being released at Gavins Point. Drummey said the Corps would continue to release that amount to meet traffic flow for the Kansas City area until Nov. 24, and then they will begin to decrease flows.
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Post by BRoss »

advcomp2019 wrote:This is some good news while being some bad news at the same time: http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/ ... 6b5f2.html

I know it is not in Omaha metro, but I thought it would go nice with this thread.
My parents have a cabin just outside Decatur. I've always found this bridge weird. It is extremely narrow and has a metal surface instead of concrete. But it will be nice to have the tolls removed.
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Post by advcomp2019 »

HR Paperstacks wrote:
advcomp2019 wrote:This is some good news while being some bad news at the same time: http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/ ... 6b5f2.html

I know it is not in Omaha metro, but I thought it would go nice with this thread.
My parents have a cabin just outside Decatur. I've always found this bridge weird. It is extremely narrow and has a metal surface instead of concrete. But it will be nice to have the tolls removed.
My dad and grandma remembers it being asphalt or some type of hard surface not the metal surface.

I live in the Onawa area. We like going to the Green Lantern, but with the toll, it made us think do we want to go or not at times. This might help get more business for them unless the states move the bridge like we been hearing rumors of since about 2005.
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Post by BRoss »

advcomp2019 wrote:
HR Paperstacks wrote:
advcomp2019 wrote:This is some good news while being some bad news at the same time: http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/ ... 6b5f2.html

I know it is not in Omaha metro, but I thought it would go nice with this thread.
My parents have a cabin just outside Decatur. I've always found this bridge weird. It is extremely narrow and has a metal surface instead of concrete. But it will be nice to have the tolls removed.
My dad and grandma remembers it being asphalt or some type of hard surface not the metal surface.

I live in the Onawa area. We like going to the Green Lantern, but with the toll, it made us think do we want to go or not at times. This might help get more business for them unless the states move the bridge like we been hearing rumors of since about 2005.
It's been years since I've crossed the bridge because I always stay on the Nebraska side, but on Google Street View (link), it looks like metal links (for a lack of a better term). Maybe it was asphalt or something else at one time and has since been removed. Or maybe it's not actually metal, but just looks that way to me.

Anyways, I think I've eaten at the Green Lantern once, but it was when I was way younger and I don't really remember it. I know people in our cabin community say it's good, but I always tend to go to Pop -n- Docs when I'm up there. I love their burgers!
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Post by Brad »

If you look at it on Google earth, you can see right though it. You can even see the sun coming the bridge in the shadows.

Google Earth Photo was taken 7/8/2012.
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Post by BRoss »

Brad wrote:If you look at it on Google earth, you can see right though it.
Yeah, that really freaked me out the first time we crossed the bridge.