PEORIA – At about 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, May 4, 2013, the City of Peoria received a report of vehicle floating in the Illinois River near the foot of State Street. Personnel who arrived at the scene that morning could not locate the vehicle. Conditions were such at the time that launching emergency watercraft was not possible.

With the help of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, on Saturday morning a possible vehicle was located about 40 feet from the shore in nearly 25 feet of water.

The Peoria Fire Department has marked the location of the submerged vehicle and continues to monitor the site. However, current river conditions make it too dangerous to conduct a recovery option. Due to recent river flooding and heavy rains, the Illinois River is moving very rapidly. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, water volume measurements taken at the Peoria Lock and Dam show the river flowing at approximately 59,000 cubic feet per second or more that 3.5 times as fast as normal (16,000 cubic feet per second). Furthermore, the river has been calculated at moving at over 4 knots.

The tremendously swift current poses a number of dangers for the Peoria Fire Department’s dive team. The speed of the flow can turn flood debris be as large as a tree trunk into projectiles. Divers could be injured by such debris or pinned against the submerged vehicle. Low visibility under the water makes the situation even more dangerous.

Water flow and speed will continue to be monitored. Should speed reduce below 3 knots or current reduce below 30,000 cubic feet per second, the Fire Department will reassess the safety of having divers enter the water.