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Flooding leaves behind sand, debris in Illinois county

MILLER CITY, Ill. (AP) - Early-winter flooding that affected several Illinois counties has left behind a scarred landscape in Alexander County in southern Illinois.

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan (http://bit.ly/1XZ1APd ) reports debris piles and massive sand deposits were left behind after waters went through the breach of the Len Small Levee.

"It's almost a barren Mad Max-type landscape," said Kenneth Delahunt, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologist. "It looked rough in 2011, but this last time it was really crazy. They had snow plows blowing sand off the road."

The Jan. 1 levee breach intensified flooding. Danette Cross, a Natural Resources Conservation Service district conservationist, said that when the leave breaks, water rushes in and brings along sand and debris.

Cross said piles of trees and other debris and differing levels of sand cover as many as 17,000 acres. Sand covering fields ranges from roughly 6 inches to about 6 feet, and the topsoil was taken away by flooding in other areas.

"They are starting to remove sand and starting to try to pick up debris, but they know it could be for naught," Cross said. "Every spring the river comes up to at least 32 feet. With the levee where it's at, it's just going to come in."

The levee hasn't gotten fixed. Water would start going into the countryside, with the conditions right now, when the river hits 32 feet.

"Even if they decided to rebuild it, it would probably be two years," Cross said. "Right now, it's not looking hopeful."

Wildlife shouldn't be affected long term, Delahunt said.

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com

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