River levels expected to drop slightly over the weekend; agencies monitoring weather
Water levels on the flooded Mississippi River are expected to drop slightly over the weekend.
Near St. Louis, the water level will drop to 39.6 feet on Friday, bringing the river down to “moderate” flooding stages, rather than the “major” flooding stages it’s seen this week. Scott Ross of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis said many metro-east agencies are still implementing sandbagging efforts to fortify the levees that protect them just in case the weather changes.
The receding water will be welcome in communities like Hardin in Calhoun County, where the Illinois River crested at 37.85 feet this week, forcing officials to declare a state of emergency. The Illinois is a tributary of the Mississippi. When the bigger river reaching high water levels, the streams that feed it back up. That, combined with runoff from rain in other parts of the state, has caused the Illinois to swell.
Though the Illinois will remain in major flooding stages until at least next week, the expected decrease to 37.6 feet will give the community a chance to continue sandbagging, said Calhoun County Emergency Services Director Chuck Lanczkowski.
“The big plus there is that it’s going down and not coming up,” Lanczkowski said Thursday. “The caveat to that is that we’re taking into consideration any rain north of us.”
According to the National Weather Service’s forecast, rain and thunderstorms will affect most of the state through at least Saturday.
Lanczkowski said the county’s main concern now is the Nutwood Levee on the Illinois River near Woodville Township. If that levee breaches or is topped, it will flood the Nutwood Flats area, which includes Illinois 16, a major road into town that residents rely on to bring in food, water and fuel.
That’s why Lanczkowski said the county is working with the Nutwood Levee District to fortify the levee in spots that are low-lying.
Another issue that affected communities must take into consideration is snow melt from the northern Midwest, said Michael Hoelscher, administrator for the Randolph County Emergency Management Agency.
Communities like Chester and Evansville have seen some of their major streets go under water due to their proximity to the Mississippi. Thankfully, he said, there hasn’t been as much devastation as up north.
“Lucky for us, the river seems to be holding its pattern,” Hoelscher said. “It all depends on Mother Nature. The key thing now is that we’re getting a break.”
Like the Illinois, the Kaskaskia River faces a similar problem with swelling due to activity both downstream and upstream. The river crested at 88.72 feet on Tuesday and remained in major flooding stages Thursday.
In Grafton, which sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, most of the town’s businesses had closed last weekend and are expected to remain closed through this weekend. The NWS river forecast predicts the Mississippi will remain in major flooding stages in Grafton until at least Tuesday.
Ross, from the Corps of Engineers, said that though the decrease is good for all affected communities, the flood fight isn’t over just yet and residents should stay vigilant about safety efforts.
“We’re not going to raising a victory flag yet or anything,” he said. “Mother Nature always has her say.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2019 at 4:02 PM.
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