THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2008

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Officials Say River Level Steady

By TROY BRUZEWSKI

Journal Reporter

Snow that fell on the official first day of spring will have little if any effect on the Des Plaines River, according to local Emergency Management Agency Director Don Meseth.

"The only thing that would cause a problem is if we got six or seven inches of snow and it all melts overnight," Meseth said.

He added the river level is checked at multiple locations, including on Wilson Lane, multiple times a day, along with keeping an eye on computer reports throughout the day.

All those indicators, he said, point to a steady river level the past week.

"(The river) really hasn't risen or dropped in the past five or six days," Meseth said. "We've been monitoring it twice a day."

That, however, wasn't the case in Gurnee, where its portion of the Des Plaines River saw a significant drop during the week.

"The river, as of 8 a.m. Friday morning, was down about 10 inches from where it was on Tuesday," Gurnee Village Administrator Jim Hayner said. "But we're having a pretty good blizzard (Friday), we got at least three inches of snow."

Friday, snowfall began and the National Weather Service predicted 6-10 inches would fall before midnight. There also is a 30% chance of snow Saturday and Sunday.

If these predictions are accurate, they could trigger cause for concern.

However, the weather service also is predicting temperatures to stay under 40 degrees until Tuesday, making a sudden thaw unlikely.

"The snow won't thaw automatically in these temperatures," Hayner said. "It depends on what we have Saturday and Sunday. So far I'm seeing temperatures around 35 or 40 (degrees), which isn't horrible. If we got around 45, then it's a concern."

Both Meseth and Hayner said they will be paying close attention to snowfall and temperatures the rest of the weekend.