'We h.Tj* the largest dam system in the . Omaha is probably in better shape than any other city in the United States.' — Chet Worm, Army Corps ol Engineers Omaha division

AHMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

BILL BATSON."THE WORLD-HERALD THEN AND NOW: At top is the view looking north from the Douglas Street bridge over the on April 17,1952. At bottom, the flood wall that held back water in 1952 is between the line of trees and the buildings today. The building at the far left center is the first one behind the flood wall in the 1952 photo. This photo was taken from the Interstate 480 bridge, » hich is slightly north of where the Douglas Street bridge was.

Dams Averted Replay V)> w Ol _k Of '52 Flood in Omaha Ol BYJULIEANDERSON Council Bluffs. there was only one dam. Fort Peck in WOfllOHERALO STAFF WRITER Finally, the Big Muddy crested Montana. The six dams and the river- The outlook was grim for Omaha early April 18 at 40.2 feet. The cities side levees considerably reduced the and Council Bluffs in April 1952. were saved from all but lowland flood- likelihood of Missouri River flooding The worst Missouri River flood in ing. in the metropolitan area. history was bearing down on the two Durine the Flood of '93, there were This year, for example, the big dams olorir1 trimrned ^V|i fp?t off the J'jlv 10 tov. ns. FrcUiCuGni 01 nvc» crcaia HO .jaiiuCagS, uO iriiniiC icVvt. aULii- climbed as the snowmelt-swollen river tions in Omaha. The river peaked July crest. devoured towns to the north. 10 at a point 10 feet lower than the Together, the levees and dams 1952 level and just licked the feet of averted an estimated $90.8 million in Thousands of volunteers, working levees and flood walls. damages in Omaha and SI08.6 million 24 hours a day, filled 5.5 million in Council Bluffs, said Betty Peake, sandbags and topped Omaha's new The big difference between 1952 community planner with trie Army levees with a 4-foot-high wooden rim. and 1993 was the addition of five more Corps of Engineers Omaha District. Thousands of people more fled from big dams on the Missouri in North "Even though you've seen a lot of homes in eastern Omaha and western Dakota and South Dakota. In 1952, Please turn to Page 7, Col. 1 OMAH. WORLD-HERALD Monday, August 23,1993 Dams, Levees AvertedReplay of '52 Flood Continued from Page 1 In Des Moines. unlike Omaha, the crete flood wall. water going by in Omaha, there could conditions and the timing were right The Omaha levee were completed have been a tot more," said Chet for major flooding. in 1951, just in time'or the big flood, Worm, chief of the reservoir regula- Des Moines area reservoirs and the and remain much le same as they tion section for the Army Corps of city's combination of corps- and city- were then. The leve begins north of Engineers' Missouri River division in built levees generally provide less protec- the city and ends at igh ground south Omaha. tion — up to a 100-year flood — of the Missouri RiveiWastewater Treat- "We have the largest dam system in than the levees that guard Omaha and ment Plant. the United States," he said. "Omaha is Council Bluffs. Bellevue and surranding areas, par- Metropolitan probably in better shape than any The Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers, ticularly Offutt Aii Force Base, are Flood Wall, other city in the United States." which joined forces in a major flood for protected by a lev: that rises near The biggest flooding threat Omaha the first time in history to swamp parts of ?0 and runs south. Levees faces today comes from the Papio the capital, were swollen by heavier That levee was coroleted in 1986. A Creek system, said officials of the rains than those that fell around Omaha more southerly sectic that runs partway corps and the Papio-Missouri River this summer. up the ws completed about Natural Resources District. Iowa received a statewide average of Today it would take an unusual 10.54 inches of rain in July, the highest However, much (" Bellevue, except combination of events to turn the average ever for a single month. State- for extreme southea, pans of the city, Missouri River loose in the Omaha- wide an average 157.98 inches fell sits on bluffs well abve the river. City Council Bluffs metropolitan area, hy- during the 48 months ending in July, Administrator S.P. Bnson said. drologists and engineers said. another record, said Harry Hillaker, Council Bluffs, 'hich also stayed Happened Elsewhere Iowa's state climatologist. relatively dry in 192, is protected by Images of downtown Des Moines Nebraska also got record statewide 14.4 miles of earthn levees and 180 inundated by floodwaters and of St. average rainfall in July — 8.5 inches, feet of flood wall. Louis struggling to keep its head above said Roy Osugi, a National Weather In 1952, much ofhe western part of the combined waters of the Missouri and Service hydrologist. But the heaviest the Bluffs was eveuated because of Mississippi Rivers have prompted the rains fell south of the area that feeds the threat of floodvaters breaking or inevitable question: Could it happen the Missouri River above Omaha. topping those levees Most of the city's here? Concrete Wall homes and many bisinesses are situat- The answer: It's not likely, and it Omaha is protected from 500-year ed on the Missouri', 3-mile-wide flood Earthen would take a flood of tremendous floods not only by the six mainstem plain. The levees suvived but required proportions, one topping the record dams, which are capable of holding some repairs, which were completed in ! DOUGLAS! COUNTY 1952 flood. back 73.5 million acre-feet of water, 1954. SARPY COUNTY "I would feel pretty comfortable in but also by 12.3 miles of corps-built Plant Dry Missouri Omaha," Worm said. earthen levees and a mile-long con- While flooding his year swamped the Des Moines Water Works and left 250,000 people without running water for 12 days, the Omaha area's Eppley Eastern Nebra;skaFlood Cirests Airfield, water treatment plants, waste- water treatment plants and power plants stayed high and dry. Some areas experienced problems with River Flood Crest Crest water backing up after storm sewer gates Station Stage Stage Date draining into the river were closed to prevent backwash. Missouri River Only Cooper Nuclear Station near Blair ...... 29 feet 27.57 feet July 10 Brownville closed down after evacua- NEBRASKA 27.45 feet June 27, 1984 tion roads flooded. The Missouri, driven 33.5 feet April 17, 1952 up by near-record inflows from the Omaha ...... 29 feet 30.2 feet July 10 Platte River at Louisville, stopped al- 29.03 feet June 27, 1964 most 3 feet below the plant's level. 40.20 feet April 18, 1952 Most of the flooding along the Platte MIKE DRUMMY/THE WORLD-HERALD LaPlatte (Arcadian) ...... 1 Q f apt OR 0 foot July 25 River, which hit record levels, affected 25.05 feet June 14, 1984 cabins and lowlands. The Papio Creek Branch Papio Creek, which flowed 17 Office. "It would be a rare event, but we Plattsmouth ...... 26 feet 35.65 feet July 25 feet and 18 feet above normal at their experienced one this year." 34.6 feet June 14, 1984 Basin in the heart of the metropolitan 32.6 feet area saw no serious flooding. peaks, had several feet to go before Melting Snow April 18, 1952 Marlin Petermann, the Papio NRD's causing the kind of serious flooding Although no one can say for sure, assistant general manager, said the 54 that enters a lot of buildings. hydrologists and engineers indicated Platte River Petermann estimated that 3 to 4 that repeated heavy rains over a wide North Bend ...... 8 feet 8.62 feet July 28 miles of levees, four reservoirs and river 9.1 3 feet June 13, 1984 channelization projects on the more more inches of rain on top of the 6 area of northeast Nebraska, northwest . 9 feet 12.2 feet July 25 vulnerable Papio are designed to take the inches that fell in Papillion on June 28 Iowa and eastern South Dakota — an 11. 34 feet June 14, 1984 kinds of floods that could occur once could have reached the 100-year flood area not regulated by dams — and 12.3 feet March 30, 1960 every 20 to 100 years. mark there. possibly a heavy snowmelt could pro- U.S.75 ...... 12feet 17.5 feet July 25 However, flooding on the quick-ris- And without Wehrspann Lake, which duce a 500-year Missouri River flood 17.0 feet June 14, 1984 ing, fast-falling Papio branches would holds water behind a dam near Interstate in Omaha. be short-lived, Petermann said. The 80 and , water in Buchholz said a 500-year flood would Elkhorn River system drains about 400 square miles Papillion probably would have been a carry a flow of about 264,000 cubic feet Waterloo ...... 17 feet 1 o 7 foot July 12 compared with the 529,000 square miles foot or two deeper than it was, he said. of nver water a second with two feet of 18.2 feet June 18, 1984 drained by the Missouri. The NRD is working on projects to levee to spare or 298,000 cubic feet a 18.6 feet June 12, 1944 A 100-year flood in the Papio Creek channelize part of the Big Papio from second with no levee to spare. Basin is estimated to be 6.5 inches of L Street to Center Street and to improve When the Missouri peaked in Omaha Big Papillion Creek rain during a 24-hour period over a stretch of the West Branch through on July 10, it was carrying 155,000 cubic Fort Street ...... 24 feet 19.9 feet July 13 saturated ground. Papillion. The West Branch work would feet per second. The 1952 flood flowed at 27.2 feet June 14, 1984 Fell to South include a proposed reservoir. 396,000 cubic feet per second. Petermann and Terry Atkins, the Still, river watchers won't rule out During this year's flood, the corps West Branch Papillion Creek NRD's water resources engineer, said the possibility of the Missouri flood- released an average of 8,000 cubic feet 84th Street ...... 19 feet 20.6 feet June 28 Omaha was fortunate that the area's ing the metropolitan area. a second from Gavins Point Dam at heaviest rains fell to the south and not "You can never say never," said Yankton, S.D., the southernmost of Source: Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District to the north over the Big Papio. Bob Buchholz, chief of the hydraulics the six big dams. The rest of the water Both the Big Papio and the West section for the corps' Omaha District came from tributaries below the dam. Water Was Several Feet From Threatening Vital Operations What it would take to flood some lic Works Department. higher ground. ground. The rest of the plant's treatment facilities are inside the levee. The Papil- of the metropolitan area's vital opera- • Water plants: The Metropolitan The Council Bluffs Water Works The Council Bluffs Energy Center tions was more than what they got in this plant also was safe from flooding. lion Creek Treatment Plant is entirely Utilities District's Florence Water Treat- sits at the same elevation as the levee protected by a levee. summer's flood: ment Plant had about 9 feet to spare, said • Power plants: The Omaha Public protecting it, said Chuck Seel, a spokes- • : Don Smithey, executive Jerry Radek, MUD assistant general Power District would have shut down man for Midwest Resources, which owns River water just reached the foot of director of the Omaha Airport Au- manager for operations. The plant was Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station before the coal-burning power plant. The river the levee at the Water Pollution Control thority, said the water had a long way sandbagged in 1952 but continued to water reached 1,014 feet above mean was 6 to 7 feet from the top of the levee. Facility, the Council Bluffs wastewater to go to the top of the 10- to 15-foot provide water. sea level, about 11 feet higher than treatment plant, said Jeff Young, plant levees around . • Wastewater treatment plants: The superintendent. Crews would have sandbagged clo- The Platte South Plant was 2 to 3 this year's peak Missouri River level river would have begun flooding parts of said Mark Gautier, an OPPD spokes- the Missouri River Wastewater Treat- Water did collect inside the plant sure structures at gaps in the levee feet above problems with the Platte man. between 10th and 16th Streets if the River. ment Plant that were built outside the site when river drainage gates were river had risen 6 more feet, said Norm Any flood at either plant would The coal-fired North Omaha Sta- Missouri levee if it had risen 2 to 3 more closed. If the river had risen 4 more Jackman, city engineer for environ- affect water intakes and pumps, but tion had 19 feet to spare. The Nebras- feet, said Dave Petrocchi, plant opera- feet, the backup water could have run mental services with the Omaha Pub- not the treatment plants, which sit on ka City Station had 3 feet of dry tions manager. into treatment facilities.