Flooding 2019: "A Way of Life" for Calhoun Residents

HARDIN – Getting in, out and around Calhoun County is difficult when it floods, and flooding has always been a way of life for its residents.

Currently, three of the county's ferries, which are essential for transportation in and out of the peninsula surrounded by rivers, are not running. Those include the Golden Eagle, which takes people to Highway D in Missouri, the Brussels Ferry, which takes residents of the county's southern reaches to nearby Grafton by crossing the Illinois River. The Winfield Ferry is also temporarily closed – something Calhoun County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Kyle Jacobs said is unusual.

“When the Winfield Ferry closes, I know it's serious,” he said. “The other two close a little easier.”

Jacobs said the currently-closed ferries have landings not suitable for high water.

Still operating, however, is the Kampsville Ferry, which takes people from Eldred to Kampsville by way of the Illinois River. Jacobs said the Kampsville Ferry seldom closes for high waters. The road between Hardin and Kampsville – Route 100 – is currently closed due to high waters. This makes getting around the county exceedingly difficult.

“People are getting around OK,” Jacobs said. “The water has gone down a bit in the last few days. People on the Mississippi River side said they were able to get around barricades at their own risk. IDOT still has the roads closed up there, but motorists seem to be getting through – again at their own risk. Kampsville's intersection of 100 and 96 is still closed, but people are reporting they are getting through the barricades at their own risk.”

While motorists in Calhoun County seem to be taking barricades as suggestions, Jacobs said no one has had their vehicles stranded as a result. He said there have been a few speed complaints as flood roads have lower speed limits than the main roads, but otherwise, things in Calhoun are relatively calm.

“We had an emergency the other night and the ambulance had to get somebody from the south end of the county,” he said. “They had to take the bridge, and it took a little longer, but everything was alright. It didn't hurt anything.”

The Illinois River crested at 34.25 feet in Hardin sometime last Tuesday, April 2. As of Saturday afternoon, when reporters from Riverbender.com surveyed the area, the river had dropped by nearly a foot, currently at 33.28 feet.

In Downtown Hardin, no businesses were closed due to high waters, and everyone seemed content with the river's level. As the water crept ever closer to a small snack shack by its edge, customers and workers continued business as usual. A gas station attendant said she noticed the river had dropped quite a bit since its crest earlier in the week.

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis said flooding in Hardin is due to the flatness of the Illinois River. As the river crosses the geography of Northern and Central Illinois, it does not meander through many hills. Because of that flatness, the river takes longer to lower when it reaches past flood stage. At its current stage, the Illinois River in Hardin is considered “major,” but it's short of its historical highs – the majority of which have been quite recent.

The highest crest on record for Hardin came in 1993 with an awe-inspiring 42.40 feet. That was on August 3 of that year. When asked if the county was ready for another historic '93 flood, he said his closest frame of reference was 2013.

On June 4, 2013, Hardin saw its fourth highest crest at 36.82 feet.

“In 2013, we had to build a temporary road at the South Side of town,” Jacobs said. “It had to be staffed and watched 24/7 actually, if I remember correctly.”

Jacobs said the county's emergency preparedness team is constantly looking at up-to-date flood future predictions. Earlier in the season, the outlook was dismal, with numbers looking like they had the potential to reach historic flood levels. Since then, Jacobs said the prediction is looking more favorable for Calhoun County. Even so, he said the county is always preparing for the worst.

“We may be getting a boat in the future,” he said. “That way we could get to people who need us easier in case the worst did happen.”

While 1993 was obviously the worst on record, four of the last 10 record floods in Hardin occurred within the last decade. Outside of 2013, the last day of 2015 saw the third highest crest at 36.87 feet in an unusual December rapid flooding event. Also on June 30, 2015, Hardin saw a crest of 36.82 feet. Most recently, on May 6, 2017, the river level reached 35.22 feet.

“Flooding is a way of life out here,” Jacobs said. “No one likes it, but it's just the way it is. We go through it every year and we make it through.”

Things may be looking more positive for the residents of Calhoun County as far as the most recent flood predictions are concerned, but more positive does not mean they are out of the water yet. Meteorologists from the NWS office in St. Louis said flooding later in the season is likely to reach higher crests than the area has experienced already in 2019 as the rainiest months of the year are May and June.

Even if rain levels are average for that time of year, higher crests could be expected – especially if the rains fall fast in the Upper Mississippi Valley. A rapid rainfall on the last gasps of winter ice could spell disaster for municipalities located along the edge of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.

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