HARDIN - On Monday, flood waters began to pour over the Nutwood Levee, isolating Calhoun County even further from the rest of the area. This new breach is filling the bowl-shaped area of farmland surrounding Route 16 in Jersey and a sliver of Greene County with water at a rate of a few feet an hour, Calhoun County Sheriff Bill Heffington said early Tuesday afternoon.
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This closed the Joe Page Bridge, which was the quickest route from Hardin to Jersey County. To make matters worse, the Kampsville Ferry also stopped running due to water on Route 108. This makes a journey from Jerseyville to Hardin now take about four hours instead of 30-35 minutes.
Despite the obvious hardships this causes, Heffington said he is grateful for the assistance provided to his county by both governmental and grassroots assistance. The Illinois National Guard, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) are all working in the county alongside volunteer sandbaggers from across the area.
"I was told we had sandbaggers coming up from Edwardsville and even St Louis," Heffington said. "We are grateful for all the support we have had. It's part of the way of rural folks to help each other out. It's part of the United States Samaritan culture."
ILEAS, which is composed of several law enforcement agencies in the region, has been working to patrol the back roads now needed to go from town to town in the county. Heffington said their patrols are ensuring people's safety, as the county has yet to see any crashes on these narrow roads not built for much traffic. Those roads will also be needed to bring food and fuel into the county by way of large trucks. He said police escorts may be utilized to get supplies into the county - even if that means closing some back roads to traffic overnight.
Heffington said there are only a few businesses remaining open in the county at this time, adding the economic impact to the county may be staggering. He also had concern for the Jersey County farmers directly affected by the Nutwood Levee breach, saying he "couldn't put a number" on their farm losses.
"I went down there today to see the water coming in from the levee," he said. "It was coming in fast. Animals were running every which way. I don't think they knew where to go. I think they were confused as to what was going on. They were swimming toward the hills, though."
As for the safety of the people of Calhoun, Heffington said several water rescue units were on hand as are a handful of helicopters, which can be used in an emergency. It should be noted, however, no one was lost in the Great Flood of 1993, which was even higher than now. "It's not at '93 levels yet, but to me, with that road closing, it's just as bad as it was then."
Hardin is expected to see a crest of 40.5 feet later this week, but as much as three inches of rain could fall this week, according to recent predictions from the National Weather Service (NWS). NWS Hydrologist Mark Fuchs said the timing of that rain will determine if it makes the waters stay at the same height for longer or if it causes them to rise even further.
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