Bob Williamson

"It's the first experience with the new levy, and they're trying to figure out exactly when things need to be done," Hannibal City Engineer Bob Williamson said before the new crest prediction."As long as the river's stable, there's no rush."

A Corps of Engineers spokesman said the flood gates would probably not be necessary if the water was 20.8 feet high.The corps recommends when Hannibal officials should close the gates, but the city makes the final decision.

The corps originally recommended closing the gates when the water reached 18.6 feet, Williamson said.The water was higher than that Tuesday, but officials didn't use the gates.

"(They have) since figured out that unless the river is coming up about 2 inches an hour, that isn't necessary," Williamson said.
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The city had planned Tuesday morning to close two river gate wells to prevent storm sewer flooding, but officials changed their minds, Williamson said.Instead, workers closed the two wells on Center and Lyon streets Wednesday afternoon.

"The storm sewers are closed and were pumped down last night," he said.

City Engineer Bob Williamson warned residents to get out of flooded areas and into shelters because any significant amount of local rain could make Bear Creek¹s level jump dramatically.

"We're just sitting and watching," said Bob Williamson, city engineer.

Images of City Engineer Bob Williamson, Emergency Management Director John Hark and dozens of local residents were beamed into homes worldwide via CNN (do you suppose Saddam Hussein was watching his favorite Western news network when Hark went live early one Sunday morning?).