NO PROBLEMS EXPECTED FROM AREA SEEPWATER

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- Residents of Alexander and Union counties are accustomed to seepage problems that come with high Mississippi River levels.

"Anytime the river gets up quite a bit over flood stage we get a lot of seepwater," said Mitchell McLane, a member of Clear Creek Levee District, which covers Alexander and Union counties. "It's a common occurrence and nobody's upset about it."

McLane said water from recent rains coupled with the elevated Mississippi is filling fields but roads are open. A few sandboils have developed but nothing serious, he said.

The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau Wednesday was at 38.9 feet on the gauge, down a half foot from Tuesday. The river was down only 3 inches at Thebes, Ill., to 38.6 feet.

The Mississippi is expected to continue falling, but slowly, McLane said, because of the continued rise of the Ohio River. It is expected to crest at 55 feet today at Cairo, Ill.

McLane said levees and drainage ditches in Alexander and Union counties are in good shape and should handle the high water without problem.

"There's not been any problems; the river's headed down and everybody's pretty optimistic," he said.

Chris Albers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, said the Mississippi should continue to drop by about a foot a day for the next three days.

Albers said weather conditions should be favorable through Sunday to encourage the drop. She said there is a chance of rain both Saturday and Sunday but neither day should bring the heavy rain that fell last weekend on the area.

Albers said there are no significant storms dumping rain on regions farther north in the Mississippi and Ohio river basins.

"The Ohio River might eventually affect the Mississippi but not right at this point," she said.