The Loup Canal is a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

and

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

located in eastern

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The canal is owned and managed by Loup Power District, a public power electric utility. Columbus hydroelectric plant (Nebraska) 2

The canal is long. It begins at headworks on the

Loup River The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast o ...

in Nance County, between Fullerton and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. It passes through a hydroelectric plant near Monroe with a generating capacity of 8000 kilowatts. From there, it continues to two regulating reservoirs, Lake Babcock and Lake North, north of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. The canal then runs from Lake North to a second hydroelectric plant near Columbus with a generating capacity of 40,000 kW. It ends at the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself ...

in eastern Platte County about one mile below the confluence of the Platte and the Loup. Construction of the canal system began in August 1934; power generation began in March 1937. A recreation system of parks, lakes and trails extends along the canal; these facilities are owned and operated by Loup Power District.

References

* Canals in Nebraska Buildings and structures in Nance County, Nebraska Buildings and structures in Platte County, Nebraska Canals opened in 1937 1937 establishments in Nebraska {{PlatteCountyNE-geo-stub