COUNTY FLOOD COSTS: $46,946

Sgt. Steve Barnhart with the National Guard looked over one of about 30 sand boils that have surfaced next to the main levee 10 miles south of Commerce Tuesday afternoon. All the sand boils have been contained with sandbags placed around the boils by the Corps of Engineers.

Cape Girardeau County has spent $46,946 so far fighting the flooding Mississippi River. The city has spent another $39,664.

And as river water recedes, the costs will likely go up.

The Mississippi River was at 43.8 feet on the Cape Girardeau gauge Tuesday.

A crew from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is touring Cape Girardeau, Scott and Mississippi counties to assess flood damage. These counties weren't included in the first go-round for disaster declarations.

In addition, local governments are assessing the costs of the flooding to date.

Cape Girardeau County has $46,946 in billable expenses through Monday for things like law enforcement, highway work and labor costs.

In addition to the actual costs, County Auditor H. Weldon Macke has calculated a guess on what cleanup costs might be.

He estimates $350,000 for the county's two road districts and another $240,000 for the SEMO Port Authority.

"It's really a guess," Macke said, "but it's based on our experience during the 1993 flood."

He said it is hard to determine the costs because some roads and bridges are still under water.

In addition to the $590,000 for cleanup, Macke said the county has submitted an estimate of $750,000 for mitigation costs. Mitigation would provide a solution to the flooding problem. Two possibilities are buying out the affected houses, mostly in Dutchtown and Allenville. The other possibility would be constructing a levee to protect these areas.

"If the floods are going to keep coming, we can't afford to go down there every year and spend even the $46,000," Macke said. "We are interested in something so we don't have to do this again."

The information is being forwarded to the state emergency management association.

County Emergency Operations Director Brian Miller spent Tuesday morning with FEMA representatives touring Dutchtown and Allenville. The FEMA crew toured Cape Girardeau Monday afternoon.

Miller said Highway A from Dutchtown to Whitewater opened Tuesday. Highway 74 from Dutchtown to I-55 remains closed with water over the road, but state officials hope to open Highway 74 by Thursday.

On Tuesday county and special road district crews began moving gravel and other materials off the roadway in preparation for its opening later this week.

A gravel road leading from Highway N to Allenville opened also, but the gravel road had been damaged from floodwater. Highway crews were dumping gravel into the swampy section to make it passable.

The city has spent $39,664 on materials and supplies like sand and equipment rental and on labor costs.

Additional costs for debris removal haven't been determined. Plus other damage may be undetectable because floodwater still covers some areas of the city.

The final tally for the flood in 1993 was $442,216 for the city. Of that the federal and state government reimbursed $362,898.