Pumping station opened up due to rising river

Main Street Levee District workers opened up the Merriwether Street pumping station in downtown Cape Girardeau on Monday, preparing for a week of rising Mississippi River waters.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a crest of 34.5 feet on Wednesday. Thirty-two feet is the flood stage at Cape Girardeau.

Andy Juden, president of the levee district, said workers won't close the floodwall gate at Themis Street unless the river reaches 35 feet or the Broadway gate unless the river reaches 39 feet.

"My definition of a flood is when you or your property get wet," Juden said. "Downtown should be fine, but there will be some farmers along Highway 74 with their crops under water."

When the pumping station is operational, rainfall that drains in downtown Cape Girardeau is forced into the Mississippi River beneath the surface instead of running into the river through gravity.