MONTICELLO — County officials are breathing a bit easier todayafter nearly a week of monitoring the Pearl River and worrying overpossible damages.

“I’m breathing a big sigh of relief,” said Mayor David Nichols.”I’m anxious for the river to go down so we can assess the damage.I know there will be some clean-up to do.”

The Pearl River crested a day early, and with less flooding,than experts had predicted. The flooding that began Thursday whenthe Pearl River rose over its 19 foot flood stage still caused somedamage that will have to be evaluated, Nichols said. It crestedSunday at nearly 29 feet.

“I think we’ll lose part of the bank at Cooper’s Ferry Park andbehind the library,” he said, also noting that a residence behindthe fire station had already lost a good deal of its bank.

Damage to the river banks is primarily caused when the waterrecedes and carries part of the severely weakened bank with it, hesaid.

“Ever since the (Jackson) reservoir was built, sloughing hasalways been a problem,” Nichols said.

He admitted, however, that the reservoir did all it could toprevent damage downstream of Jackson.

“We really appreciate the reservoir doing what it could toretain the water. It has greatly improved our situation here,” hesaid.

River bank erosion along the Pearl River, especially where itmakes the bend near downtown, has always been a problem for thetown. The Army Corps of Engineers was called in to do a river bankstabilization study in 1999, but very little was done after thestudy was completed even though they confirmed there was aproblem.

The results of the study indicated it would take millions ofdollars to stabilize the banks, and Corps officials said at thetime they did not have the funding to pursue it.

Nichols is hoping that has changed, and he intends to usephotographs and details of the current flooding as evidence of theneed.

“We are going to be pursuing some emergency assistance,” hesaid. “They’re getting a firsthand look at what happens when theriver rises here. Something has to be done to protect the propertyvalues along that river bank, and we did get enough rainfall to beable to declare a disaster.”

Declaring a disaster is the first step in seeking emergencyassistance, Nichols said, and the requirements to do so have beenmet.

In the county, work continues to repair or replace culverts androads that were washed out or damaged during the week’s severeweather, according to Board Secretary Shelia Smithie. All roads andbridges remain open.