 About 3.30 this morning, we ended up losing the battle of keeping the Raccoon River out of the treatment plant. L.D. McMullen was director of the waterworks at the time. He said shutting the plant down just before the Raccoon River water came over the levee protecting it meant they could get water back to citizens in a matter of weeks instead of months. The raccoon crested at a record 26.75 feet, nearly two feet higher than the levee.