PINE BLUFF -- Officials in Jefferson County were cautiously optimistic Monday that they have seen the worst of the flooding, even though the Arkansas River continues to rise in the area.
Pine Bluff officials are in a "wait-and-see" mode and have prepared as best they can for the threat of flooding within the city, according to Stephen Bronskill, an assistant to Mayor Shirley Washington.
The Arkansas River is forecast to crest in Pine Bluff at 51 feet Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. The river was at 50.08 feet Monday afternoon.
Pine Bluff Regional Park and Lake Saracen Landing have been closed since last week. Water extended well above the parking lot Monday but was still several feet from the Martha Mitchell Expressway.
"We are monitoring it really closely, but we've got less than a foot to go in terms of water level rise," Bronskill said. "The levees are in pretty good shape, and as long as we don't have a major incident the flooding should be restricted to what is currently flooded."
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Bronskill said 550 homes sit inside the county's levee system and are vulnerable to flooding. Many, if not most, are flooded to some degree now, he said.
Sheriff Lafayette Woods, Jr. said his office is waiting to see what the coming days bring.
"Things haven't improved," the sheriff said. "We're still not at crest yet. The water has continued to rise, and we have some areas of concern."
Woods said he is worried about the possibility of levee breaches in a couple of areas. Of greatest concern, he said, are the areas of Pot Liquor and Packing Town on the eastern side of the city, near the Union Pacific yard and the Port of Pine Bluff.
"Those people live right beside the levee," Woods said. "Our major concern is to make sure the water doesn't topple the levee, because if that happens we'll be doing emergency evacuations."
Woods said residents in the area have been advised of the danger. Some chose to stay but several left the area as a precaution.
"We're just kind of waiting and monitoring the situation," Woods said. "That's all we can do."
County Judge Gerald Robinson said last week several gaps in the levee system that protects Pine Bluff were filled in as a precaution. The gaps exist to allow free access inside and outside the levee's protection system.
"These were man-made gaps for the use of businesses, for the port and for the railroad to be able to operate," Robinson said. "These were man-made gaps that we have known about, and we knew they would have to be filled in if the river overflowed."
Robinson spent Monday monitoring levee conditions around the county. While no levees had breached, Robinson said Plum Bayou Levee off U.S. 79 was a concern.
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"I'm sending some guys over to do some work over there to possibly build it up some," Robinson said.
The judge said he has been taken aback by the amount of water that has risen in various places around the county.
"I've seen water in places that I never thought I'd see it," he said. "That just kind of tells you how critical this situation is. We're just praying that we do not have any type of breach anywhere. I don't know if it did how bad it would be. We're just holding our breath."
Union Pacific pulled its rail cars and engines out of Pine Bluff and moved them to higher ground as a precaution until the floodwaters recede. The company also has pulled up track in some locations where gaps in the levee system were to be filled in.
"Pine Bluff is part of the north-south line that has had a lot of water in the last couple of weeks," said Kristen South, public information officer for Union Pacific. "So one of the things we did this weekend, we put in what is called a wye that lets us detour trains around and still maintain service on our line from Chicago to Texas, which is one of our busiest routes."
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That traffic normally runs through Pine Bluff. On a normal day, often one or two trains an hour are seen making their way in either direction. Only one or two trains came through the city Monday.
Pine Bluff Arsenal operations have not been impacted by rising water, according to Cheryl Avery, the arsenal's public affairs officer.
"We do have a lot of water surrounding us, but it's not affecting our mission at this time," Avery said. "It's not affecting any of our environmental areas or anything like that."
Avery said the arsenal does not anticipate any negative impacts on its operations as the river crests Wednesday.
"It's business as usual," she said.
A Section on 06/04/2019