By KAREN BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

ELLIS GROVE, Ill. — Flood-prone fields again filling with water and several closed roads were the worst of Mississippi River flood problems in southern Illinois. But just as the wheat harvest here is underway, the floodwaters have isolated a critical wheat mill in Chester and a grain elevator in Evansville, said Jack McCormick, an Ellis Grove farmer.

“Right now, we’re shut out and trying to figure out what to do about it,” the Randolph County farmer said.

Few farmers in the region have storage to wait for the floodwaters to recede. They were working Monday to identify options. The waters are not expected to drain off until early next week.
Illinois Gov. Rod. G. Blagojevich on Sunday afternoon added Madison and Randolph counties to the state’s county disaster list. Others include Calhoun, Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Hancock, Henderson, Jasper, Knox, Lake, Lawrence, Mercer, Pike, Rock Island, St. Clair and Winnebago.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Weather Service office of Paducah, Ky., and farm leaders said the region appears to have escaped widespread damage, with no requests for state or federal emergency management assistance.

Floodwaters are expected to crest this evening in Chester at 38.1 feet, with flood stage at 27 feet.

Floodwaters as of Monday morning were at 37.9 feet. The weather service also stated that “major flooding” occurs in Randolph County at 38 feet. Flood levels never reached the same stages as the Great Flood of 1993, Corps officials said in a press release.

“I’m not sure what we’re in for because they’re saying it will take some time for the waters to recede,” McCormick said. “I’m just glad we’re not the ones making the news, for a change.”

Levee seepage into fields behind the barriers have filled with water, but that’s become a routine part of life in these parts, he said. A malfunction with a gravity drain gate along a river levee managed by the Prairie du Rocher Drainage and Levee District caused water to gush behind the levee’s protected area, Randolph County officials reported. They also said a ring levee was built June 21 to ease pressure on the main levee.

Roads were closed by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) because of standing water on Illinois 3 from the truck route in Chester south to Rockwood in Randolph County, and Illinois 100 at US 67 near Alton in Madison County. Drivers were urged to use extreme caution around floodwaters, which can be strong enough to sweep away a vehicle.

The state Department of Natural Resources also closed the portion of the Kaskaskia River running through Randolph County until waters recede to normal levels. This affects an area from the Mississippi River to mile marker 21 near Baldwin. The move banned recreational boating, allowing commercial fishing and barge traffic only.

For more information on road closures and driving restrictions, call IDOT at 217-782-7820 or visit www.dot.il.gov/ road/restrlst.rtf
For river stages, visit www.crh.noaa.gov/pah and for flood recovery, call the Illinois Emergency Management Agency at 217-558-0546 or visit www.ready.illinois.gov