7/26/93
By: Brien Murphy
Courier-Post Staff Writer

Area levees continued to hold and the river at Hannibal fell slightly to 30.6 feet overnight as city officials moved into planning for the flood aftermath.

The Sny Drainage District levee in Pike County, Ill., despite reports of several potentially serious boils throughout Tuesday, survived another day, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Crews on the 52-mile levee, one of the few remaining in the area, continue to try to keep it standing.

Boils in the levee near East Hannibal, Ill., worried levee crews, but they were contained before the levee burst, according to the corps.

A break in the Sny levee near East Hannibal could delay the reopening of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge if water were to cover more of U.S. 36.

The Canton levee also survived the night, protecting the town of 2,600 people. Many Canton residents continue to stay at Culver-Stockton College.

The river level at Lock and Dam 20 in Canton was 25.7 feet this morning.

Temporary sandbag bunkers also held again in Clarksville. The river level this morning at Lock and Dam 24 was 37.15 feet, about the same level as Tuesday.

In Hannibal, city officials are looking at the long-term effects of the flood, including cleanup, housing shortages and changes in sales taxes collected by the city.

Mayor Richard Schwartz said today housing shortages are critical as more families are forced from their homes, or will be forced out because of heavy flood damage.

City officials are trying to come up with plans for a temporary trailer court, and finding more public housing, among other ideas.

Meanwhile, the cleanup of flooded areas cannot even begin until water recedes.

Even if the Mississippi River drops half a foot a day, it will not fall to 20 feet ­ a level where most flooded homes in the Bear Creek area would not have water inside the homes anymore ­ for almost three weeks.

And rain is in the forecast for several days in Hannibal and in areas north of the city.

Even when the river recedes, standing water in the Bear Creek area that would not drain away would remain for several more days, said former building inspector Gene Guy, who is coordinating Hannibal flood relief efforts.

A possible bright spot, Schwartz said, is city sales tax receipts ­ the primary source of city revenue ­ may not be hurt as badly as anticipated.

While many downtown businesses have been hit hard with tourist cancellations because of bridge and road closings, people who often shop in Quincy, Ill., likely are shopping in Hannibal, Schwartz said.

While July figures will not be available for several weeks, Schwartz said it is possible, based on conversations he has had with retailers, that people from Palmyra, LaGrange, Canton, and Hannibal who normally shop in Quincy are shopping in Hannibal because they cannot easily get to Illinois.

The news was worse in southeast Lincoln County, where flood workers were considering giving up the levee near Old Monroe, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff¹s office.

With the Cuivre and Mississippi rivers meeting near the town, and continued pressure from flood water, there may be nothing left for levee workers there to do but give up, according to the sheriff¹s office.

The river level at Lock and Dam 25 near Winfield was up .3 of a foot to 39.2 feet today.