Flood precautions at waste water plants a 'top priority' for the City of Omaha

• Flood preparations at waste water treatment plants are a top priority for the City of Omaha
• The levee at the Missouri River Waster Water Treatment Plant only stretches halfway across the site
• Watch to learn more about public works plans

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

The City of Omaha is continuing its flood preparations as the Missouri River has yet to hit its peak. Public Works says this Missouri River Waste Water Treatment Plant is a top concern because levees in the area are already above the nationally recommended levels.

"We're doing everything we can as a city to make sure we're protecting human life and property," said Public works, Assistant Director of Environmental Services Jim Theiler.

The city has put up hescos at the plant, they're three by three cubes of sand that act as an additional barrier because the federal levee only stretches halfway along the plant.

"They actually shut off the railroad tracks and push dirt through the railroad tracks and tie it back through the the bluff, and they also kind of build a little berm because there's a ditch back there and we have to keep that from kind of flooding back into us from the back end," said Theiler

Theiler says floods can force treatment plants to go into limited modes of treatment if they become inundated with water or cause other problems like in Sioux City where their plant is pumping close to a million gallons of untreated sewage into the river a day.

However, Theiler says water shouldn't reach the plant because its levee crest is 40 ft compared to the projected 35 ft of flood water we're expected to get.