The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(ST. LOUIS) — The Coast Guard is monitoring water levels on the Upper Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers and their tributaries Tuesday after a recent storm in the St. Louis area.
Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River in St. Louis have deployed nine flood punt teams to affected areas in support of the local emergency operation centers in St. Louis County.
Sector Upper members are working closely with state, county, and city EOCs to ensure the safety of residents potentially affected by flooding.
“Our foremost concerns are safety of life and navigation, protection of infrastructure and property, and to prevent marine casualties,” said Capt. Martin Malloy, commander, Sector Upper Mississippi River.
The Jerry F. Costello Lock on the Kaskaskia River is currently closed. Removal of any restrictions to river operations will be re-evaluated as river conditions improve.
The U.S. Coast Guard captain of the port determines when to issue a river closure by following a waterways action plan, which provides the marine industry, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state and local governments with a plan for facilitating the safe and orderly movement of traffic during extreme conditions on the inland rivers.
A waterways action plan is available at: https://www.uscg.mil/d8/sectUMR/default.asp.
