River ebbing, but rapid flow still a hazard

30-ton builder’s rig is lost in channel; stretch closed

The driver of a four-wheeler goes down Canal Drive to check on the Island Harbor Fire Department on Friday in Pine Bluff. The department had parked a fire engine on high ground in advance of flooding.
The driver of a four-wheeler goes down Canal Drive to check on the Island Harbor Fire Department on Friday in Pine Bluff. The department had parked a fire engine on high ground in advance of flooding.

The flooded Arkansas River continued receding in Little Rock and Pine Bluff on Friday, but the rapidly flowing currents in the capital city hindered workers searching for a huge piece of equipment that fell into the river near downtown.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials blocked river traffic between the Murray Lock and Dam and the David D. Terry Lock and Dam on Friday afternoon after a drill shaft template used on construction on the Broadway Bridge project was reported lost.

Corps spokesman Randall "Jay" Townsend said the 60,000-pound template is presumed to have sunk and could snag barge traffic that passes over it. The river flowed at 200,000 cubic feet per second Friday afternoon. Normal river flows in Little Rock are between 40,000 and 50,000 cubic feet per second.

The river, along with other streams and creeks in the state, rapidly rose earlier this week after heavy rains soaked the Arkansas River Valley last weekend. More than 9 inches of rain fell in Fort Smith over a 96-hour period, filling the Arkansas River with torrential runoffs.

Three locks and dams in Morrilton, Toad Suck and Pine Bluff remained closed Friday because of the rapid waters.

Receding waters aided a Crawford County dive team that recovered the body of Skylar Combs, 19, of Alma, who slipped and fell Monday into the swift-running Frog Bayou between Alma and Mountainburg. Combs was swimming with two others in the bayou's Grotto Hole off Arkansas 282 when he disappeared into the waters.

Independence County deputies also recovered a woman's body in the White River lock and dam in Batesville on Thursday. Sheriff Steve Jeffery said authorities sent the body to the state Crime Laboratory for identification. He said he didn't know whether the death was related to flooding. The White River has dropped about 7 feet since Wednesday.

Residents in north Pine Bluff waited for the river to slowly recede in Island Harbor and along Riverside Drive on Friday. The Arkansas River crested at 43.15 feet in the city on Thursday afternoon. Flood stage there is 42 feet; the river finally dipped below that stage, reaching 41.2 feet by Friday evening.

Pine Bluff City Treasurer Greg Gustek said water neared his home, but did not get inside.

"I've lived here since 1997," he said. "I've had water in my yard five or six times. It's not bad here, but there are some in our neighborhood who have to put on boots and wade through several feet of water to get home."

Gustek said once the waters drop another several feet, cleanup will begin.

"It's going to be a mess," he said. "There's a lot of smelly debris left behind. Also, we've got to watch out for the creepy crawlers and the snakes. They're all upset because the river disrupted their homes."

Melinda Elliott, the operations manager of the Pine Bluff E-911 center, said several homes along the river in Jefferson County still had water in their yards.

"We've had no injuries or major displacements due to the water," she said. "Most of the people who live there have lived there for years. They watch the river closely."

Pine Bluff police officers patrolled areas to make sure sightseers weren't creating disruptions.

Farther downstream, Arkansas Post National Memorial park ranger Joe Herron watched the nearby Arkansas River.

"It's not too bad," he said. "In 2011, we had our picnic area flooded. It's not there yet this time.

"We're in a good position. People set up Arkansas Post in 1749 here to get out of the flood plain. Still, if we get a lot more rain, it could start backing up."

The National Weather Service is forecasting more rain for today, Sunday and Monday, said meteorologist Jeff Hood of North Little Rock.

Up to 2 inches of rain is expected across much of the state over the three-day period, but it shouldn't affect the Arkansas River too badly, he said.

The bull's-eye this time should be south of the Arkansas River Valley, Hood said. "I think this system will be less of an influence. But it will keep the river level up a bit. It won't let the Arkansas River recede quickly."

He said he expects the river flows will remain high as any water runs off and heads to the Mississippi River.

State Desk on 05/16/2015

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