The Metro East Sanitary District is issuing a flood advisory for Madison and St. Clair counties, effective immediately.
The Mississippi River in St. Louis is expected to reach flood stage in St. Louis at 30 feet today (Oct. 11) and is forecasted to crest at 36 feet on Monday, Oct. 15.
“These projected river levels can and do fluctuate as conditions change,” MESD Executive Director Stephen Adler said. “Residents should regularly go to the river stage section at the MESD website for the latest information and click St. Louis Gauge.”
Eight MESD pumps stations are manned on a 24-hour basis. Another seven operate on remote control with supervision in the vicinity.
“Right now, more than 90 percent of the pumps we have are operational,” MESD Commissioner Don Sawicki said. “In past years, no more than 50 percent of these pumps were ready to pump stormwater if needed. Our levees and pump stations received conditional accreditation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in August 2018 for the first time ever, and I expect no problems for those not directly on the Mississippi River.”
While levees are the first level of protection, most residents don’t understand that when the Mississippi River is above 20 feet, rain falling inside the Metro East American Bottoms must be pumped over the levees to prevent inland flooding.
“Put it this way … every drop of water that falls in the Metro East section of Illinois, over 200 square miles, has to either evaporate or be pumped over that levee,” Adler said. “That takes tremendous amounts of manpower and electricity. We have a fine staff, and the MESD Board of Commissioners has spent over $1 million this year getting this system into operating condition.”
If Mississippi River level projections raise further, more alerts, including action levels and road closures, will be issued for public safety; in the meantime, residents are urged to check the levels on the sanitary district’s website.