Historic flooding in November has beat up southeast Missouri’s Montauk State Park – causing about $4 million to $6 million in damage.
Justin Adams, with Missouri State Parks, thinks the rainfall was historic – surpassing the 2017 record by about six feet.
“We believe the upper end of the watershed received between 16 and 18 inches of water in about a 24-hour period,” said Adams. “So, I’m mean, that’s that’s unheard of.”
He said the campground’s electrical systems, playgrounds, a shower house, and the park’s historic mill were damaged by water.
“Most of the campground was completely covered in sand and gravel,” Adams told Missourinet. “We’ve had a couple of our roads were washed out. We had a couple of cabins that were destroyed – had water all the way up to the ceiling inside of them and blew out the walls.”
No injuries were reported because the park closed in anticipation of the flooding.
He said the goal is to reopen the park by March 1st – for opening day of catch-and-keep trout fishing season.
“I really don’t have a good handle yet on what the fishery will look like for next year,” Adams said. “I think people will maybe need to have different expectations. Just overall, the park is going to look different. When we get done with an area with our sand cleanup, there’s still a layer of sand that we just can’t get up. You know, it’s pretty much changed the look of the campground.”
Adams said some trout were killed but more survived than anticipated. Missourinet contacted Montauk State Park’s fish hatchery for information on the flooding’s impact to the fish population.
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