Water levels on the flooded Mississippi River will decrease this week
Many metro-east communities affected by flooding from the Mississippi River should see better days as the water levels on the river continue to decrease.
With the exception of Hardin in Calhoun County, the National Weather Service’s forecast predicts the river to go from “major” flooding stages to “moderate” flooding stages this week in the areas it monitors along the Mississippi.
Near Chester, the river crested at 42.46 feet on Tuesday. On Sunday, that had fallen to 41.13 feet and, by Thursday, it should drop to 39.9 feet, the NWS forecast reads.
Over the last few weeks, Randolph County communities were forced to close major streets that had gone under water. Only Water and Kaskaskia streets, which run along Illinois 6, were still closed due to flooding on Sunday, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Most of the businesses in the riverfront town of Grafton had closed last week due to flooding. On Sunday, Illinois 100 remained closed in the town, which sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The water level was at 30.8 feet Sunday afternoon, but is expected to go down to 28.9 feet by Thursday.
Calhoun County, which declared a state of emergency last week because of extreme flooding, will remain in major flooding stages through the week, the NWS forecast predicts. The Illinois crested at 37.85 feet there on May 8, and had only dropped to 37 feet by Sunday. At its lowest point, the river is expected to be 35.4 feet by Monday, May 19.
Scott Ross of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the BND last week that though the water levels are falling, residents in affected areas still need to take caution.
“Safety, safety, safety,” he said. “If people are in and around levees, they need to be monitoring the rivers. Definitely don’t drive through any flood waters.”
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