The Missouri River is once again dropping below major flood stage in our area. But officials in Elwood say it will have to drop a lot more before they get relief from interior flooding.

In the meantime, they are using pumps to remove about 100-million gallons of water a day from low lying areas in and around Elwood. Levee Board President Craig Sheppard tells us that interior flooding has caused a lot of problems.

At least two roads are closed, and a pair of businesses have been shut down for weeks because their facilities are surrounded by a lake of rainwater that has nowhere to go. They must also protect some sanitary sewage lagoons that are surrounded by interior floodwaters.

That water did not come from the Missouri River. Recent rainfall has nowhere to go because the ground is saturated and they can’t yet open the gravity flood gates that allows the water to flow into the river channel.

Sheppard says under normal circumstances, river stages must drop well below flood stage, down to about 12 or 13 feet, before they can open those gates. By Sunday night, the river stage at the St. Joseph gauge was 27.3 feet. It’s expected to drop to about 26 feet by Friday.

These photographs were taken near US-36 and 165th Road.

Click on each photo to enlarge it.