By Eli Chen
A Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District worker dives into a manhole in north St. Louis to install a plug to help keep flooding from the Mississippi River from overpowering the sewers and causing backups into homes.
As the Mississippi River (click here) continues to rise, utilities and government agencies in the St. Louis region are taking steps to protect sewers, levees and other facilities that could be affected by moderate flooding.
Above-average snowmelt and rainfall from northern parts of the Midwest have caused river levels to rise in the St. Louis region. The National Weather Service reported Thursday that the river at St. Louis is at 34.8 feet. Meteorologists expect the river to crest at 36.3 feet by late Wednesday.
In anticipation of moderate flooding, which occurs at 35 feet, the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District plugged two manholes in St. Louis, in north and south St. Louis....
...The Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis also activated its emergency-response center on March 15, after the town of Clarksville requested sandbags and other supplies to fend off potential flooding. Engineers from the corps’ St. Louis District have also been communicating with the Riverport Levee District in Maryland Heights regarding flooding from the Missouri River.
The corps expects to keep its emergency-response center activated through April, said John Osterhage, chief of emergency operations of its St. Louis District....
Mississippi River at St. Louis (click here)
