As floodwaters rose in parts of the OPPD service territory, employees quickly went into action.
Their main goal?
Protect the utility’s facilities and infrastructure – and keep electricity flowing to thousands of customers.
A photo gallery from recent days:
OPPD line crews load into a boat to inspect electrical equipment in the Hanson Lakes area on March 18, 2019/C.J. Hill
An OPPD line technician climbs a power pole to inspect electrical equipment in the Hanson Lakes area on March 18, 2019/C.J. Hill
OPPD line trucks enter the Hanson Lakes area to inspect equipment on March 18, 2019/C.J. Hill
Floodwaters approach the training building at Fort Calhoun Station over the weekend.
Floodwaters rush past the base of an “H-frame” transmission tower during aerial inspections earlier this week.
An employee fills a Hesco barrier at Fort Calhoun Station over the weekend to protect the equipment from floodwaters./Cris Averett
Distribution poles remain standing from floodwaters that took out a section of Highway 92 just west of Elkhorn.
OPPD personnel inspect levees near Nebraska City Station (in background) on March 19, 2019/Cris Averett
Transmission lines remain standing in floodwaters near OPPD’s Nebraska City Station on March 19, 2019/Cris Averett
Flooded rivers converge in eastern Nebraska on March 17, 2019
John Wichman, senior design engineer for Energy Delivery and Decommissioning at OPPD speaks to inspectors about the levee at Nebraska City Station on March 19, 2019/Cris Averett
Sand is poured into Hesco barriers at Nebraska City Station on March 18, 2019/Cris Averett
Personnel lay a plastic barrier down for the Hesco barriers at Nebraska City Station on March 18, 2019/Cris Averett
A transmission line is surrounded by floodwaters in this aearial photo taken during a helicopter inspection of OPPD infrastructure.
OPPD employees look at plans for Nebraska City Station to protect the facility on March 19, 2019/Cris Averett
Laura King-Homan is the managing editor of The Wire and a brand journalism strategist at Omaha Public Power District. She has nearly 20 years of print journalism and design experience, including the Omaha World-Herald.
