Osage County preparing for rising river levels

As river levels rise, Osage County leaders are preparing as much as they can.

The Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham went out to survey the water levels from the River Access in Chamois and properties along the Missouri River on Friday.

“We’re checking properties to make sure there isn’t anyone there that shouldn’t be there,” Bonham said. “We’re going to make sure the levels are set, and we understand the levels are going to go up, and so this is kind of a benchmark, so we can see where we’re at.”

There are concerns about the water levels at the Bagnell and Truman dams, as well.

“I know that they are going to have to release water and that is going to push river levels up on the Osage, which obviously we are concerned about,” Bonham said.

Bonham said they have pushed back releasing water from the dams a few times, but they will probably have to release some next week. “The water from up above has to go somewhere, so it’s going to come down sooner or later,”he said.

He said anyone who owns a home along the river should turn off their electricity, “Electric can be a hazard, so we don’t want anyone from the shores going in anywhere near where the homes are, because we don’t want any electrocution,” Bonham said.

Chamois Mayor Elise Brochu has been monitoring the river levels over the past week.

“With the river on this side and the creek on the other two sides of town, there really isn’t a lot we can do as far as keeping the water out of town,”she said. “The best we can do is let people know when it is supposed to come in town, so they have time to prepare.”

Right now, Brochu believes there is one home in Chamois that has water in its basement.

She said she is most worried about the farmers in Chamois.

“They already haven’t been able to plant that much this year because it’s been so wet and the fields have been so muddy, so they already don’t have crops in that they normally would and what they do have in, the water may come over the levee and flood it, which is a huge impact for them,” Brochu said.