High water levels on Arkansas River trigger safety warnings

High water levels on the Arkansas River are creating setbacks for boaters and businesses.

Heavy rain in Oklahoma has trickled down to the central Arkansas area, impacting waterways.

"We're getting the consequences if you will from the rain from our friends to the west," Executive Director of the Port of Little Rock Bryan Day said.

One of the state's busiest waterways is slowing down.

Day said because of this, it changes how they operate day to day.

"It takes longer to move barges to and from the docks, because of the high water, because of the volume of flow. We have to work a little bit slower, be a little bit safer, because the water conditions are not ideal," Day said.

In April, the Little Rock U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a small craft advisory for the Arkansas River. That advisory is still in effect.

With the river moving swiftly, exceeding 70,000 cubic feet per second, it poses a hazard for boaters.

"We have to be extra careful, we have to make sure our employees are more careful, be a little more cautious," Day said.

THV11 spoke with Little Rock Yacht Club President Steve Owen. He said the faster currents would affect smaller boats on the water, pushing them downstream rather than up.

"This is pretty much an unprecedented year for us right now," Owen said. "Some of the smaller boats. They don't go faster than 5 miles an hour, so you would not be able to go upstream at all. You would be going downstream."

That's why he said the message right now is simple: Stay off the water.

"It's just not safe to be out there right now, just because, in addition to the water, you have limbs and trees and brush, and anything that's upriver that gets that gets swept into the river is coming down at that 5, 6 miles an hour," Owen said.

While the river is below flood stage for now, that doesn't mean the risk isn't there.

Here in North Little Rock, officials said parts of the Arkansas River Trail are underwater, prompting them to monitor conditions closely.

"High water has a far reaching impact. In some places, it floods. We're not flooding here, fortunately, but in some of the lower spots along the river corridor, it floods. So this high water impacts a lot of people negatively," Day said.

Those conditions will continue into next week, with river levels expected to hit a maximum 13.3 feet.

Government flood monitors said 18 feet is the action stage and 23 feet is considered the minor flood stage.

The river crested in Little Rock at 29.7 feet during the flood of 2019.