Cape pumping stations close after 90-day mark

With the Mississippi River continuing to inch downward, Cape Girardeau's two pumping stations finally shut down Monday afternoon after 90 straight days of making sure stormwater didn't invade the city's downtown streets and businesses.

City crews had to man the riverside stations around the clock, standing at the ready to flip switches that had the potential to send nearly 110,000 gallons a minute from the stormwater system into an already overflowing river.

"If it starts raining at all in the downtown area, they've only got 15 minutes before the downtown would be flooded," public works Director Tim Gramling said.

But the river has been coming down and is expected to crawl beneath the 32-foot flood stage no later than Thursday. On Tuesday, the river stood at 32.6 feet and was expected to be at 30.1 by Sunday, said Mary Lamm of the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. Cape Girardeau first went above flood stage April 20, she said.

The 90-day mark for continuous operation of the 50-year-old pumping stations -- one on Mill Street near the Isle of Capri casino site and the other on Merriwether Street downtown -- is the second-longest active streak for the pumping stations, said city stormwater coordinator Stan Polivick.

The longest was during the flood of 1993, when the stations were operational for 134 days. That coincides with the longest the river stood above flood stage, a period of 126 days from June 9 to Oct. 12, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The stations were operational last year, Gramling said, for more than 70 straight days and that would make a record for a two-year period.

"I think that they've been used more in the last two years, twice or three times as much, as in the 50 years before that," Gramling said.

The pumping stations, housed in red brick buildings, are activated when the river gets to flood stage. The station at Merriwether Street has five pumps -- two smaller pumps, each with the capacity to pump 4,500 gallons per minute; and three larger ones, each with a 20,000 gallon-per-minute capacity.

Mill Street has three pumps, one of the smaller ones and two of the larger pumps for a combined capacity of 40,500 gallons per minute.

The stations are needed when the river rises, Polivick said, because the stormwater can't empty into a river that is so high the pipes are blocked. The gravity pipes become submerged and the stormwater becomes trapped on this side of the flood walls -- which leads to flooding.

"If we get a July thunderstorm in one afternoon, that water has to get out pretty quick to keep from flooding the street," Polivick said. "If it starts to rain, we have to be there to activate the pumps. It's very important to have a quick response."

Six men a day worked in eight-hour shifts, which took them away from other duties, such as mowing near detention basins and culverts. But the men are back on their regular schedules and catching up on those jobs, Polivick said.

Still, city officials were impressed with how well the pumps worked and said residents should realize how vital they are.

"They worked and we would have been in serious trouble if they hadn't," said Mayor Harry Rediger. "To have our staff involved for that period of time, it was a real achievement to get that done."

During the city council meeting Monday, City Manager Scott Meyer equated it to buying a new car and driving it to New York City and back many times over.

"It would be like driving for 2,160 hours and putting 130,000 miles on your car," he said.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Merriwether Street and Water Street, Cape Girardeau, MO

Mill Street and Main Street, Cape Girardeau, MO