EAGLE LAKE — Muddy Bayou Control Structure was being closed today to help shore up a key levee at Eagle Lake, while the community’s main access point from Vicksburg is expected to close by Monday.

More water in the lake will take it to 90 feet instead of the ideal 76.9 feet to ease pressure on the Buck Chute levee while a berm to enclose sand boils is built below.

“The lake itself is going to come up on its banks,” said Col. Jeff Eckstein, commander of the Vicksburg District as officials met with about 500 people who jammed Eagle Lake Volunteer Fire Department for updates on the levee and roads in and out of the community. “We’re in a flood situation. We just don’t know what will happen until it happens. So, I ask that everybody take prudent measures to protect your own property, your own lives. The decision, ultimately, is yours.”

At 90 feet, most homes and cabins should be able to handle the planned rise in lake level, said Peter Nimrod, engineer with the Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners.