Central U.S. flooding hits recreation, tourism industries

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- As the waters of the swollen Arkansas River rose in Little Rock, and threatened to reach record heights, Samuel Ellis had to make the tough, but prudent, decision to indefinitely shutter kayak rentals from his tour company.

Weeks of flooding along the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers has hit tourism and recreation businesses in the central U.S., regardless of whether they're directly dependent on the river.

Three years ago, Ellis' new kayak and bike rental and tour company had three kayaks for rent; now he says he often has 25 people at a time paddling down the usually gentle river.

Ellis said waters tend to be higher in June anyway, but around Memorial Day this year, Ellis had to temporarily close down his downtown riverfront boathouse and his typically more protected location slightly farther upstream in anticipation of historic flooding. His company, Rock Town River Outfitters, also rents bikes, but the river has spilled over onto trails along its banks, so tours have been restricted to dry areas downtown.

"It has hit me pretty hard this month. I'm hoping the water will go down fast so that we can at least have our bike trail back," Ellis said.

Main Street in downtown Grafton, Illinois, is seen Wednesday being swamped with Mississippi River floodwater.David Carson ~ St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, file

Record flooding has hit much of the south and central U.S. this spring, as higher than average rains have strained dams and aging levees.

About a quarter of the businesses surveyed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism reported an impact by the flood, said deputy director Kristine Puckett.

The department has been working to combat fears the entire state is underwater and is reminding tourists and residents alike the Natural State has 50 state parks, as well as dozens of towns and cities, unaffected by flooding.

For some Mississippi River towns relying heavily on tourists, the perception of the flood is as bad as the high water itself.

Kimmswick, Missouri, just south of St. Louis, has only 170 residents but draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to small restaurants, quaint shops and two huge festivals. One of them, the Strawberry Festival scheduled for last week, had to be canceled because of the flooding.

Samuel Ellis inspects a bike at his kayak and bicycle tour and rental company Thursday in Little Rock, Arkansas.Hannah Grabenstein ~ Associated Press

The town itself is dry, thanks to a levee reinforced with sandbags. But two of the three roads leading to Kimmswick are underwater and town leaders feared it would be unsafe to have the expected 50,000 festival-goers coming and going via one road.

Mayor Phil Stang said business this spring "is a little off" -- even though every shop in town is open -- because of the perception of the flood. The fact is, he said, people in Kimmswick are experienced in fighting back the river.

"The good news is we're very, very good at it," Stang said. "And the bad news is we're very, very good at it, because we have to be."

The perception of the flood is very much reality in Grafton, Illinois, another St. Louis-area town on the Mississippi River.

Grafton has no levee and businesses along the main highway through town are inundated.

Stephanie Tate, communications director for the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau, called the situation "pretty awful."

"April through November, they're usually hopping in Grafton," Tate said. "People in Grafton make their living in those months. So it's tough.

"You live and die by the river, and this year, the river is flexing its muscles," Tate said.

In Little Rock, Ellis hopes to get back out on the river in a couple of weeks in what he expects will be a rush from cooped-up kayakers. One other unexpected but happy consequence of the flooding has been an uptick in questions from people who know Ellis understands the river.

"We've been answering phone calls since we started hearing about these floods about river safety, places you can go," Ellis said, noting people trust him.

"On the financial side, yes, we've taken a bit of a hit. But it's nothing we won't be able to come back from."

Salter reported from St. Louis.

Follow Hannah Grabenstein on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hgrabenstein.