There were several new levee problems reported in Holt and Atchison counties Thursday.

River levels in Big Lake have reached record levels. At the Prop Inn Bar and Grill, only the roof was visible over the floodwaters.

Another levee breached south of Fortescue, prompting flash flood warnings between Fortescue and Forrest City, and points south and west.

In Atchison County, a levee 1.5 miles north of the Brownville Bridge, prompting renewed calls for evacuations west of I-29, including Langdon, Watson, Phelps City and Nishnabotna.

In St Joe, river levels are dropping dramatically.  Forecasters say the river will drop nearly five feet in 24 hours, from 25.78 feet early Friday morning to 21 feet Saturday morning.  The Big Muddy was expected to rise back up to 25.8 feet before levelling off Sunday evening. The river crested in Saint Joseph Thursday afternoon at 26.54 feet, well short of the major stage of 27.2 feet predicted earlier.

Levees south of St Joseph are getting new attention, with sandbagging efforts underway south of Winthrop, Lewis and Clark Village, Rushville, and at Bean Lake.

At Lake Contrary the Corps of Engineers says they’ve completed work on two of six planned relief wells along the levee.

The Corps is coming under fire for mailing out letters looking for people who want to sell their land along the river.  Some insist the search for “interested sellers” confirms they’re more concerned about the pallid sturgeon than they are about people.  The Corps admits the timing might be insensitive, but they’ve been doing this since 1986.