The Missouri River at Jefferson City could dip below 20 feet this weekend, according to Tuesday's forecast from the National Weather Service in St. Louis.
The Missouri River rose above flood stage of 23 feet in Jefferson City around May 22 and did not recede back to that level until mid-July.
Getting the river level down into the teens could help officials with the Capital View Levee do more assessments and pre-repair work.
Jefferson City Operations Division Director Britt Smith, who also sits on the levee district board, said they have been told the levee is near the top of the list for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to formally evaluate. The Corps has said it probably will be sometime in September before they get to all the levee districts that have requested help.
Floodwaters breached the Capital View Levee around May 24. The levee can hold about 30 feet. It sustained five or six large breaches, with the largest one being about 1,000 feet long. This caused flooding at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport and throughout North Jefferson City.
"In advance of the Corps, the levee district has been working to get debris off the top of the levee," Smith said. "This includes spraying for Johnson grass which, if it gets deep enough, can cover up where a breach is."
A pipe under the levee that acts as a large drain has been blocked with silt and quicksand, so the levee district has been working to get that out, Smith added.
Jefferson City officials have said it could take a year or more to make all the repairs to the levee. How much that will cost is unknown, but the Corps evaluation should help make a determination.
Additional weather resources:
Corps of Engineers Missouri River basin reports
Ameren's Truman and Bagnall Dam daily report
Missouri state highway road closings