MISSISSIPPI RIVER IS ON THE RISE AGAIN; RECENT RAINS PUSH THE WATERWAY HIGHER

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- For those who live along the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, this week must seem like deja vu.

Twenty years ago, on May 1, 1973, the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau crested at an all-time high of 45.6 feet, causing wide-spread flooding and property damage along both sides of the river and along the north side of the Diversion Channel from the river westward to Allenville.

Ten years later, on May 6, 1983, the Mississippi crested at 45.1 feet, causing the same problems in the same areas.

Now, 10 years later, the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau is expected to crest Saturday at 38.5 feet. It will be the fourth crest since March. On April 20, the river crested here at 40.6 feet, the highest the river has been here in almost seven years.

So far this year, the impact of the flooding has not been as great because of the lower flood crests.

But for those who live and farm the 8,000 acres of land inside the East Cape Girardeau-Clear Creek Levee District, this latest round of flooding brings back memories of 1973 and 1983, when much of the land inside the levee district was under water. Both times it was well into June before they were able to plant soybeans. Some never did get a crop in those two years because the water did not go down fast enough.

As was the case in 1973, 1983, and now, it's not water from the Mississippi River flooding the fields in the East Cape-McClure area; it's water from rain that drains southward toward the lowest spot in the levee district, along Highway 3 north of Gale, and backs up.

The backup occurs because a 54-inch gravity flow drain under the levee near Gale and two, 48-inch gravity flow drains between the Cape Girardeau river bridge and Route 3 must be closed when the river reaches 28-30 feet on the Cape Girardeau gauge. After the drain gates are closed, any rain that falls inside the Big Five Levee District - which extends from the Big Muddy River south to Gale - eventually accumulates and starts to back up from the drain near Gale. About 64 percent of the surface water drains through that drain pipe.

After the 1983 flooding, there were attempts by levee and state officials to get the Corps of Engineers to install twin, 60-inch drains under the levee near Gale. This would have allowed the water to drain into the river faster, but a lack of money killed the project.

Bill Colyer, a farmer and long-time resident of the East Cape Girardeau area, is a commissioner on the East Cape-Clear Creek Levee District. Colyer said currently about 2,500 acres of farmland in the levee district is underwater and another 5,500 acres are too wet and muddy to work.

"For all practical purposes, nothing has been planted in this area this spring," said Colyer. "I've got three acres of sweet corn coming up behind my house, and it took 17 days for the seed to sprout because of the cold, wet ground. In a normal year, most of us would have started planting corn around late March and April."

Colyer said more farmland north of McClure is also under water."

Farmers whose fields are still under water or are too wet to plant in the East Cape Girardeau area and in unprotected areas on both sides of the river are facing a May 20 deadline to get corn in the ground. After that, yields begin to decline at harvest time due to a shorter growing period.

For those planting soybeans, the deadline is early-to-mid June. But in order to get any seed in the ground, the Mississippi River will have to fall enough to open the gravity drains under the levee so the water can drain into the river and the soil dry out enough to plant. That takes time and lots of windy, warm, sunny days.

Colyer said the water is backing up in fields along Highway 3, northward toward the Route 146-3 intersection, and in low spots in fields northward from the levee toward Route 146 between the river bridge and the Route 146-3 junction. He said last weekend's 3-inch rainfall has only added to the water problem.

Some roads in the East Cape Girardeau-McClure area that were not under water last week now have water over them.

"Several gravel roads in the area have gone under water in the past several days. The latest is the New Ditch Road between Route 3 and the new bridge over the Clear Creek Levee, east of Nile," he said. "There is also water over gravel roads in five spots between Route 146 southward toward the levee, and water over a gravel road from Bader Lane east to the Route 3 rest area south of McClure. There are a couple of blacktop roads now under water in McClure, where they cross the old channel of Clear Creek."

During the May 1983 flooding, 10 inches of water covered Route 3 south of the Route 146 junction. Only large trucks were allowed to travel through the water. Some residents of Thebes and Olive Branch had to travel the Grape Vine Trail to the Tamms Blacktop Road to get to and from work.

After the 1983 flooding, the roadbed of Route 146 between the river bridge and the Route 3 junction was raised to prevent sections of the roadway from being flooded by the backwater.

Colyer said the excess water has raised the water table in the soil, causing some water to seep into basements in homes in East Cape Girardeau.

However, the main levee that protects the district from the floodwaters of the Mississippi River is "in real good shape" despite all the rain, said Colyer. He said the levee is patrolled on a regular basis to watch for any signs of weakness.

The National Weather Service says more showers and thunderstorms are forecast today and Friday and into next week, which can only add to the water problems.