Although the Mississippi River crested on Saturday afternoon and its levels are slowly dropping, it might be quite a while until parks, roads and trails are opened back up to the public, officials said Sunday.

The river crested in St. Paul at 20.17 feet Saturday afternoon and was at 19.6 feet on Sunday afternoon, said Lisa Hiebert, a spokesperson for St. Paul Public Works. This year saw the eighth-highest crest on record and fell just shy of the high level in 2019.

Just because the levels are receding doesn’t mean that much will change for now, Hiebert said, noting that the river’s level is still in “major flood” territory.

People still need to avoid anything that is closed off, she said.

“Please don’t go around anything that is barricaded,” she said. “I can’t stress that enough. That’s all in place for everyone’s safety.”

Everything that is now closed will remain closed for the time being, she said, noting that all the protective measures in place will remain, such as closures of trails, parks and launches.

And she is unable to say when this will change. “It will depend on the water levels decreasing, but just because the water recedes, there’s still a lot of work the city needs to do before reopening,” she said.

The city has to inspect the closed areas for damage, make repairs, take soil samples, clean and then remove all protective barriers and measures.

“All that takes time,” Hiebert said. “We just ask that people be patient. It’s going to take a little bit of time.”

For instance, in 2019, after flood waters receded on Water Street, an inspection found that the embankment was washed out, so the city had to completely redo the embankment and guardrail, which took nearly two years.

For updated information, visit stpaul.gov/flood.

In Stillwater, the Mississippi River is expected to crest at 1 a.m. Monday.

Related Articles

Flood levels expected to crest Saturday night for Mississippi and St. Croix rivers

County buys, demolishes store next to flood-damaged Rapidan Dam before it fell into river

Blue Earth River has come within 10 feet of landmark Rapidan Dam restaurant

Washington County Board to hold Friday emergency meeting amid flood preparations

St. Paul declares state of local emergency in response to Mississippi River flooding