By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – The Nebraska National Guard's monitoring of Omaha's 13 mile levee system ends Sunday.
Omaha's Missouri River Unified Command requested Guard assistance with levee monitoring through the end of August. Marty Grate of Omaha Public Works says that request was denied with little explanation. That means city employees and private contractors will be trained in levee monitoring and surveillance starting Thursday.
It'll cost the city $80,000 a month to have city employees and private contractors monitor the 13 mile levee system.
The Guard's aerial monitoring of the levee system will continue, and 1,500 pound sandbags positioned at Eppley Airfield for emergency use will stay there.
Starting Monday, releases from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota will be reduced to 150,000 cubic feet per second.