There are many things that will be affected by the flooding that will hit the Vicksburg-Warren County area this week.

Some businesses will be forced to close. People living in the low-lying areas will be forced to leave as flood waters begins to rise and threaten their homes. Eagle Lake will become an island surrounded by the Mississippi with its residents having a single access road to reach the city.

But one aspect of the flooding has so far been overlooked. The burden it will put on the city and county employees and the levee district and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees charged with carrying out the flood fight and keeping the city and county going.

With all the planning and discussions by city, county, state and federal officials aimed at setting a strategy to fight the high water that will hit this area, the actual work to fill out those plans will fall on the people whose daily job it is to keep the roads paved, the water flowing through the pipes, keep us safe from crime and keep the levee system fit.

As the Mississippi River rises and puts pressure on the levee system, levee district and Corps employees will be out checking them for sand boils and seepage, evidence that the river is trying to undercut the levee, and slides caused by excess moisture in the levees.

If they find any of those problems, they will have to move quickly to correct the problem, such as walling off a sand boil, to prevent the levee from weakening or collapsing.

City and county workers will be pulling double duty — helping protect areas from flooding and doing their regular jobs like ensuring streets and roads are passable and maintaining utilities and drainage.

For city employees, the problem is acute. They have to deal with the city’s aging infrastructure that includes a 109-year-old sewer system and an almost 50-year-old waterline system, while at the same time close access areas in the city’s floodwall to prevent flooding, and take steps to protect the city’s sewer treatment plant, which was affected by flooding in the 2011 spring Mississippi River flood.

They could also be called on to help residents in the Ford and Kings areas in the north, and Cedars Circle in the south to evacuate their homes. City Street Department and county Road Department workers will be blocking off streets roads leading to flooded areas.

Police officers and sheriff’s deputies will be responsible for maintaining security in the flooded areas and directing traffic away from flooded areas, keeping sightseers from going into treacherous areas that could result in tragedy, and preventing people who see someone’s tragedy as their blessing from breaking into vacant homes.

So when you see these people out working this week, give them a wave or take time to tell them thanks. They’re the key to our and the area’s safety.