City Installs Floodgates as Ohio River Rises

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH, KY - As the waters of the Ohio River continue to rise at a faster rate than expected, the City of Paducah has begun the process of installing its floodgates.Paducah Public Information Officer Pam Spencer says crews from various departments were preparing Sunday morning to move equipment into place to begin the process of installing the gates, a process that will take several hours. It takes about 12 hours to install 20 gates. Once up, the gates will remain in place for several days.Spencer said the decision was made to put up the gates because the river is rising faster than expected, and is already at 48 feet.Forecasters say the Ohio River should crest at Paducah Wednesday morning at 49 feet.On the other side of the Ohio, the city of Brookport usually installs its flood gates as the river gauge goes to 53 feet. Sunday night's river stage was 49.8, predicted to crest at 50.5 feet.In Golconda, the city closes its floodwall when the river gauge exceeds 55 feet. Sunday night's level was 48.6 feet, forecast to crest at 52.7 feet next weekend.