Caddo Lake flood waters are receding, and Uncertain Mayor Sam Canup expects people to be able to access their homes this week to begin assessing damage.

"The water is receding nicely and going down 4 to 6 inches per day," he said. "It is predicted to possibly go down a foot tomorrow. It's looking much better, but we still have folks who can't get to their homes. It's getting better."

The American Red Cross will be delivering drinking water to Uncertain City Hall about 10 a.m. this morning, as well as cleaning supply kits for those able to work in their homes.

The Caddo Lake level was at 173.1 feet Friday morning, said Brandi Richardson with the National Weather Service in Shreveport. Flood stage is 172 feet.

"We are expecting it to fall below flood stage probably late Saturday night," she said. "We are moving the crest down the Red River pretty quickly — so that is allowing more water out of Caddo Lake. We are able to release more out of the dam.

"The Red River is the key to all of this," Ms. Richardson added. "With the Red River high, there is nowhere else for the water to go."

Tributaries flowing into Caddo Lake are also down from flood stages. The Big Cypress Bayou, which has a flood stage of 18 feet, is at 11.49 feet. The Big Cypress Bayou was kept below flood stage by upstream controls at Lake O' the Pines, Ms. Richardson said.

The Black Cypress Bayou is at 12.88 feet and the Little Cypress Bayou is at 11.51 feet. Both have a flood stage of 13 feet.

"The after-effects of this flood will continue for several months as people clean up," she said.

Canup expects people in the Taylor Island and Cypress Village neighborhoods to be able to reach their homes within the next few days. He also expects many who own weekend cabins to begin checking on their lake properties.

"The Cypress Village area is still flooded with a foot or so of water over the road, and it's dangerous to drive there," said Canup. "But I expect there will be some people anxious to check on their homes."

Drinking water will especially be a necessity for customers of the Cypress Village water supply, which suffered a leak during the flood and was shut down. The outage affects about 100 homes, Canup said.

"We do still have the no wake zone, and people should be aware that it's not only for boats on the water. The wake zone is also down the flooded streets," said Canup, who has had people call to complain about drivers who go too fast through the water.

"We had some people driving in and out over the flooded streets, and that makes a wake same as a boat makes a wake," he said.

For those hoping to get a jump on debris cleanup projects, two large trash bins will be placed in downtown Uncertain Saturday, Nov. 14, and Sunday, Nov. 15.

"This is for people to put debris in from the flood — from the lake and from the land," said Canup.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast for the next few days, but the rainfall is not expected to make a hydrologic impact, said Ms. Richardson.

Weakened Tropical Storm Ida may also make landfall in the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico, but it is also expected to impact areas to the east of Texas.