As of Friday evening, the Cooper Nuclear Power Station at Brownville remains on-line.Nebraska Public Power District spokesperson Mark Becker tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB, "The plant will be shut down and taken off-line if we reach a level called 901.5 feet.We haven't reached that yet but we have to be reasonable about this.The river is rising and it will probably happen but we just don't know when."
The Missouri River only needs to rise another half-foot before it reaches that shut-down point.
Becker says, "If we have to shut it down and take it off-line, that is a protective safety measure for the public.Once the plant is off-line they will monitor the conditions of the river and will take more actions to protect the facility itself."
NewsRadio 1110 KFAB also spoke with the Omaha Public Power District about the Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Station that is permanently offline.Spokesperson Jodi Baker says there is 24/7 monitoring of the facility.A flood barrier has been installed around the plant. Every precaution is being taken at the facility.
Photo courtesy of NPPD.