The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake announced today that the lake is cresting at an elevation of 396.7 feet today and tomorrow.

A "bucket brigade" was formed in order to move the sandbags down the top of Wappapello Lake's overflow spillway on April 27. Sandbagging along the top of the spillway allows construction of the rock dike to continue. USACE photo.

The elevation of the overflow spillway is 394.74 feet.  A temporary rock dike was constructed in front of the overflow spillway With the rock dike in place, the water that would have flowed over the spillway is passed through the normal outlet structure, protecting the infrastructure behind the spillway.

Nearly 12,000 tons of rock were trucked in while hundreds of Corps personnel and local volunteers worked side by side to fill and place sandbags to protect the construction effort.

The Recreation Pool Level usually seen at this time of year at Wappapello is 359.74 feet.  If water overflows the spillway (397.3 feet), the discharge would remain the same (10,000 cubic feet per second) regardless of which outlet is used. No additional water is being held in the pool at this time.  If the pool rises above 397.3 feet, discharge will increase.

The National Weather Service has forecasted an additional 1 – 1.5 inches of rainfall for the Wappapello Lake watershed over the next few days.  Tours of the spillway area have been cancelled until further notice.  Highway T is still closed.

The Corps asks motorists to please continue to use alternate routes, exercise caution and watch for flooded roads.

For addition information, call the Wappapello Lake Project Office at 573- 222-8562, the Recreation Hotline at 1-877-LAKE-INFO (24 hours), or a Visitor Assistance Ranger at 573-778-5404.

More information on St. Louis District’s Spring 2011 flood fight efforts is available on the Team Saint Louis websites:

www.mvs.usace.army.mil

http://bit.ly/floodfight

www.facebook.com/teamsaintlouis

www.twitter.com/teamsaintlouis

— Corps of Engineers news release