LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As water on the Arkansas River continues to rise, people in the Little Rock area are asking what to expect there.
"A couple years ago when we had the rain here in the Little Rock area, we had the Clinton presidential park flooded out but nothing compared to this magnitude,” Tyron W. Dillard said.
Col. Bob Dixon with the Corps of Engineers said although the water will continue to rise, do not expect floods in downtown Little Rock.
"There are some low lying areas that will see water in them, but there's not a lot of infrastructure built up in the low lying areas,” Col. Bob Dixon said.
He said parks along the river like the Arkansas River Trail will flood, but buildings should be safe.
"Because of the way the levee systems are maintained and operated, you're not going to see a whole lot of water getting in places it's not expected to,” Col. Dixon said.
And North Little Rock has a concrete flood wall in place. Apartments near the river and the Verizon Area should be protected from it.
"They've got pumps set up and a series of stop logs to close up the gaps in that wall to make sure the folks in North Little Rock are also safe,” Col. Dixon said.
Clinton National Airport's runways also fall close to the river, but Col. Dixon said he is not projecting those to flood.
"But the Weather Service forecast for that area has it really close. But if the current forecasts hold, I do expect to see that closed down,” he said.
Col. Dixon said the worst flooding will be in any parks along the river. Burns Park and the north side of the Big DAM Bridge are mostly flooded. He said to stay away until the water starts to go down.
“Right now I think it's going to be… I think you can measure it in weeks not days,” Col. Dixon said.
Col. Dixon said if you do live close to the river in a protected area, it is important you still pay attention to your local emergency management officials and evacuate if told to.