Evacuations under way in Norfolk
Lincoln – High water on the Elkhorn River is leading to voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas around the city of Norfolk.
Madison County officials have announced that they are evacuating the Andy's Lake area near Norfolk as of approximately one o'clock this afternoon.
Reports from the Nebraska State Patrol indicated at that time that floods waters were approximately one foot from the edge of south 1st Street on the south edge of Norfolk.
Reports earlier today from the National Weather Service indicated that the Platte River is cresting, and that the river continues to surge. The river's level should continue to slowly fall after the crest.
Statewide, conditions of municipal water supplies are being watched. Three official boil-water orders are currently in effect:
– Stanton issued a Boil Water Order (BWO) due to losing their well field transmission main that runs under the Elkhorn River.
– Kenesaw issued a BWO because their well controls had been hit by lightning during a storm, resulting in the wells not running
which caused a complete loss of pressure in the distribution system. Bacteriological samples have been taken and the system is
awaiting those results to determine whether they can lift the BWO.
– Buffalo Bill Mobile Home Park (MHP) in North Platte, issued a BWO due to a lightning strike and the resulting mechanical
failure of their well.
There were a few BWO's issued that were not authorized by the public water systems.
North Platte asked residents to limit water use due to sewer system overloading but did not issue a BWO. Maxwell, Sargent and Cozad were also experiencing wastewater system issues (overloading of the collection and other systems) but did not issue BWO's.
