![]() ![]() At about 36 feet, the Old Channel Road is underwater, cutting off the island from the mainland, and anything above 27 feet is considered flood stage. Kaskaskia was nearly destroyed when the levee broke during the record flooding of 1993, but in recent years, the river has reached the third (45.99 feet in 2016) and fourth (44.66 feet in 2017) highest flood levels in history. On June 10, the river crested to the second-highest level in history at the official gauge in Chester, at 46.52 feet, according to the National Weather Service, behind only the 49.74-foot mark on Aug. I really don’t know.” Higher river, more often There are only two families left on the island with children, he said, and the future of the village and the island may eventually be up to them.ĭriving his pickup past tractors and cars moved to higher ground atop the levee, slowing for a mother and three pup raccoons to cross into the underbrush, Klein said he hopes people will continue to live on the island in the future. But with no amenities on the island, the schools of his youth long since shuttered, Klein knows the life isn’t for everyone. When the rains subside, the rich floodplain soil will potentially yield plentiful, and lucrative, corn, soybean and wheat. Still, Klein couldn’t resist building a new workshop for his construction work. Klein, 40, whose family has owned land on the island for four generations, said the recent spate of floods “tells me that you’re stupid to put much money on that floodplain.” “I love it here,” Klein said, as he maneuvered his truck around a sunken tree branch. The attraction of place - the history, the houses and farms passed down among generations, the memories and the uniqueness of the location - it’s all too strong to leave behind, residents said. But this has been such a bad year.”Įven while they have had to temporarily relocate or rely on boats for access, Kaskaskia residents are not ready to pull the plug. The river comes up, but it also goes down. “Those who live in big cities or towns have lost touch with how farming is still big business. “That’s kind of a big-city question,” said Emily Lyons, Kaskaskia’s unofficial historian and organizer of the Fourth of July celebration whose house on the island was destroyed in the ’93 flood. They scoff at suggestions that more frequent flooding signals the impending demise or eventual abandonment of the village or the island. ![]() Residents of Kaskaskia say the flooding has been frustrating and inconvenient, but few have considered abandoning their land.
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