RIVER IS ON WAY TO FIFTH CREST; SHOULD HIT 33.8 FEET ON SATURDAY

The Mississippi River is headed for a fifth flood crest in two months later this week at Cape Girardeau.

The National Weather Service said heavy rains that occurred this week in central Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois will cause the river to crest on Saturday at 33.8 feet, 1.8 feet above flood stage.

The Mississippi at Cape Girardeau was at 31.6 feet on Wednesday, a rise of 1.3 feet. It is forecast to rise to 33.5 feet today and 33.8 feet on Friday, cresting Saturday at 33.8 feet.

The weather service's 30-day forecast calls for the river here to drop to 32.6 feet by Wednesday; to 29.6 feet on June 23, to 23.8 feet on June 30; and to 20.9 feet by July 7.

A spokesman for the Main Street Levee District said the Merriwether Street Pumping Station went back into operation early Wednesday morning as the river reached the 30-foot mark here.

A spokesman for Union Electric Co., which operates the Mill Street Pumping Station, said the pumping station was scheduled to go back into operation Wednesday afternoon. Both stations had been in operation for nearly two months from early April to late May.

The latest flood crest on the river is not expected to cause any problems at this weekend's Cape Girardeau Riverfest. Because of the prolonged high water in April and May, no Riverfest activities on the waterfront were planned this year.

However, the high water will reduce what little space is left on the river side of the floodwall for spectators to view the Saturday night fireworks display.

Neither of the floodgates will have to be closed during Riverfest because of the latest flood crest. The Themis Street gate is not closed until the river reaches 35-36 feet on the Cape Girardeau gage; the Broadway floodgate is not closed until the river reaches 37.8 feet.

A spokesman for the Main Street Levee District said workers were in the process of reopening the Merriwether Street Pumping Station when the storm hit. They quickly opened the gates under the floodwall so pumps in the station could begin pumping stormwater and sewage into the river.