Ouachita River surpasses 47 feet

Associated Press - November 4, 2009 9:44 PM ET

MONROE, La. (AP) - The swollen Ouachita River has topped 47 feet, but the rate of its rise has slowed and the levee system remains intact.

Tensas Basin Levee District executive director John Stringer joined Mark Cooper, director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and other officials on a tour of the system Wednesday.

He says there were no signs of seepage or sand boils.

The Coast Guard closed 111 miles of the river from mile marker 221 near the Louisiana and Arkansas border to mile marker 110 near Columbia, La., to all recreational and commercial traffic due to extreme high water and strong current conditions.

Stringer says the river rose only 3 inches during the 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday compared to more than a foot early in the week. It is forecast to crest at 48.5 feet in Monroe on Nov. 12. Flood stage there is 40 feet.

Information from: The News-Star, http://www.thenewsstar.com