With heavy rains affecting Osawatomie, please know the city’s staff is closely monitoring river levels and its ponding areas near the levee.
The city received a tremendous amount of rain over a two-day period, which only added to already swollen rivers and saturated ground. To manage the excess water, four stationary pumps have been running since yesterday, and six additional mobile pumps were brought in to handle the water. While the ponding areas are full, the auxiliary pumps are helping city crews make progress. At 3 a.m., city public works crews installed stop logs in the levee’s southwest gate to prevent rising water from entering town. As a result, rail traffic has ceased at this time.
Currently, the Marais des Cygnes River is still rising. However, the river appears to have already crested upstream in Ottawa. Based on current weather data, the Marais des Cygnes is expected to crest around 40 feet sometime today. Likewise, Pottawatomie Creek crested upstream around midnight, and is expected to crest at Osawatomie after noon today.
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