Officials watching water levels not concerned about rain forecast

ALBANY — With the swollen Flint River and Kinchafoonee Creek falling rapidly from recent flood crests, area emergency management officials were unconcerned about predictions of more rain toward the end of the week.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday forecast a 40 percent chance of rain Thursday through Saturday, but the NWS’s Katie Moore said just one to two inches of rain are expected over the three-day period.

“The (NWS river chart) shows a small bump on Friday, but it’s so small it’s like it’s not even there, Lee County Zoning, Planning and Emergency Director Matthew Inman said. “We are not expecting any additional rise in the creek level.”

According to the NWS, the Flint River fell below flood stage at 25.2 feet Wednesday afternoon. Flood stage is 26 feet.

Albany Fire Chief /EMA Director Ron Rowe said, “The water is still receding rapidly,” adding any additional rain might slow down the drop, but have little or no effect on the river level.

“Based on the current river level, the river is not going to rise due to a short rain event,’ Rowe said.

In Newton, the Flint crested at 32.53 feet late Monday and stood at 29.5 feet Wednesday afternoon. The river is expected to drop below flood stage of 24 feet sometime Saturday.

“I think if we get only one or two inches this weekend, we’ll be fine and things will be moving in the right direction ,” Baker County Manager Sherry Bailey said. “As we speak we are in the process of removing sandbags from around the courthouse. There is still some water in the back but it did not get into the courthouse. We’re in a lot better shape than we were a week ago.”