There's good news and bad news in this morning's (8/16) river stage update. The Vermilion River at the Surrey Street gauge in Lafayette appears to be starting to recede. The latest measurement on the gauge indicates the river had fallen from 17.62 feet earlier in the day to a level of 17.42 feet shortly after 2 AM.

This downward trend in the water level of the Vermilion is forecast to continue. However, river is not expected to be below flood stage until much later in the month. That is of course barring any more serious rainfall incidents.

Meanwhile about 40 miles west of the Vermilion River the Mermentau continues to rise because of the recent rainfall. As of the 2:15 AM measurement at the town of Mermentau the river was up from a reported level of just above 9 feet yesterday to a current level of 9.84 feet.

The rise in water in the Mermentau is expected to continue to late Thursday or sometime early Friday when a crest of 11.5 feet has been forecast. This crest forecast has been revised downward since forecast were issued earlier this week.

The rising water is expected to continue to affect those that live along the river and the connected tributaries, creeks and coulees that drain into the Mermentau. Some of the communities that are currently experiencing high water are the town of Mermentau, Lake Arthur, and Crowley. There are many other areas that are affected by the high water as well.

More From 99.9 KTDY