High water has Corps closely monitoring levees

MISSISSIPPI RIVER — The Army Corps of Engineers says it’s keeping an eye on Mississippi River levees because the river is high. The twice-weekly checks are a precaution because the water is expected to remain high for a while.

The Corps said yesterday patrols began this week for levees along the east bank of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to Bohemia and on the west bank from Donaldsonville to Venice in Louisiana.

It says inspections will continue until the water level drops below 11 feet at the Carrollton, La., gauge. The current level there is 11.9 feet, and the National Weather Service says it’s expected to crest at 12.7 feet on Feb. 15.

A similar round of inspections ran from late December into early January.