Loup Generator - Summer2019

The storm destroyed the caretaker’s house
at the Genoa Headworks (below). Most of
the house has been removed from the canal.
PICKING
THEPIECES
UP
The March
storm caused
a large canal
breach near
the Highway 22
bridge southwest
of Genoa. Preferrred
Sands employees
helped fill the gap, but
Loup employees need to
widen the dike an additional
10 to 20 feet in places.
Ice jams. Rain. Snow melt. Fluctuating temperatures.
They collided violently in mid-March, leaving
behind disaster and destruction throughout much of
Nebraska.
Loup Power District’s Genoa Headworks was not
spared. The water breached the canal walls in several
places between the intake structure and the Highway
22 bridge southwest of Genoa. The two largest
breaches flanked the intake structure.
Over the next week, Loup employees worked to fill
the breaches and stop the uncontrolled flow of water
from the Loup River in to the canal.
They had help from neighboring Preferred Sands of
Genoa. Preferred employees used the business’ large
machinery to haul loads of sand to help fill the gaps
and rebuild roads.
The Nebraska National Guard assisted as well,
dropping 280 massive sandbags in the south breach.
Now, four months later, employees are working
to pick of the pieces and rebuild the area. It is
a frustratingly slow process — made so by a
combination of the extent of damage, the weather,
and the regulatory procedures mandated by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Although some of the pieces are falling into place,
it will take several years to finish the puzzle.
SUMMER 2019 9