Photo by Deb Gau The Redwood River in Marshall was swollen near the intersection of North Bruce Street and Emerald Court on Saturday. Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said the city is closely monitoring ice jams on the river. A large ice jam near Victory Park caused a small overflow of the city’s flood control weir on Saturday.

MARSHALL — High water levels and the potential for flooding are leading area communities — including Marshall — to declare states of emergency. Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes made the declaration on Sunday, but city officials say for now it’s more of a precaution than a response to active flooding.

“We still have a threat. On the other hand, we don’t have a crisis,” Byrnes said, in a video posted on the Marshall city Facebook page Saturday afternoon.

Marshall hasn’t been the only area community to declare an emergency for flooding. The city of Cottonwood declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Saturday afternoon. The city of Ghent also declared a state of emergency last week.

Making an emergency declaration allows cities to take action against flooding more quickly and efficiently, said Lyon County Emergency Manager Tammy VanOverbeke. VanOverbeke said she plans today to ask Lyon County to declare a state of emergency, as well.

Within the city of Marshall, the emergency declaration is focused on the potential for flooding on the Redwood River, which is at record levels. In Saturday’s video announcement, Byrnes said the city’s emergency team met over the weekend to discuss potential flooding and flooding in town.

“The Redwood River, which flows through Marshall, is at capacity,” Byrnes said. An ice jam caused a slight overflow of the control weir at Victory Park, where the river enters Marshall. “There is a significant amount of ice that is flowing on the river, and was held up at the Victory Park area. That has moved at this point, but it is downstream farther, and there are other locations on the Redwood River where there is ice.”

Marshall residents are advised to stay away from the river and moving water, for safety. The parking lot at Victory Park, which is the trailhead for the Camden Regional Trail, has been closed to the public.

Over the weekend, the city also closed County Road 35 (Skunk Hollow Road) and the east entrance to Klein Acres due to flooding concerns. The Klein Acres entrance is a “Texas crossing,” where overflow from the Redwood River is designed to pass through over the roadway.

As of Sunday morning, Byrnes said Marshall had “significant ice jams” on the river in various locations.

“The most significant ice jam we have in the area is near Victory Park,” he said in an updated video posted Sunday. “Since about 6:30 or 7 p.m. (Saturday) night, there has been continual flow. The ice jam is on one of the curves just downstream from the walk bridge at Victory Park. It’s uncertain when that will break up, so because of that, as well as other ice jams that are in various locations in the river throughout the city, that is the reason for the emergency declaration.”

The emergency declaration allows Marshall to take measures to protect lives and property if needed, Byrnes said.

The Redwood River gauge level is expected to stay between 17 and 18 feet through Monday, Byrnes said. Meanwhile, Marshall still has around 2.5 to 3 inches of water content left in the snowpack around town. City staff expect there will still be some issues with localized ponding in yards, due to melting snow.

Byrnes said the city could also continue to have issues with ice jams in the near future. City staff are monitoring the situation closely.

“There’s still a lot of water out there, but the good news is it’s still melting,” Byrnes said. The city is encouraging people to discharge their sump pumps into the street, and not near homes or into the sanitary sewer system.

If sandbags are needed to protect homes, residents can fill them for free at the Marshall street department shop.