HANNIBAL — The Mississippi River that reached near-record levels this summer is back in its banks, and one Missouri town is about to get rid of thousands of sandbags.
Hannibal placed the sandbags atop its flood levee as the river began to rise in June and July. On Tuesday, the city council approved the hiring of a private company to remove the bags.
City officials estimate that more than 1,200 cubic yards of sand, sandbags and plastic debris remain atop the levee. Mid-MO Recycling will be paid nearly $40,000 for the removal.
City Manager Jeff LaGarce believes state and federal governments will pay for all but about $6,000 of the cost.
The flood this year at Hannibal was the second-highest on record, topped only by the Great Flood of 1993.