Floodwaters on the Rise with More Rain Expected

*Piburn Field Tuesday morning (photo by Kevin Morgan).*

Up to 2.5 inches of rain fell on Excelsior Springs Monday night and Tuesday morning forcing many creeks and streams to overflow. Weather forecasts for the area are predicting even more rain Tuesday evening into Wednesday putting Excelsior Springs at risk for another round of damaging floods. As many residents recall, flooding in the downtown last June forced the cancellation of Waterfest, the city’s largest celebration, and caused damage to several structures, parks, and the Elms Hotel. Excelsior Springs sits on the confluence of two forks of the Fishing River, the East Fork and the Dry Fork which makes damaging floods in the downtown more likely. However, as reported earlier this year the City has secured funding to conduct a watershed study that will hopefully uncover ways to alleviate severe flooding in the city.