Residents along the Kankakee River in southern Lake County appear to have received a reprieve after water levels began to recede near Shelby.

"I think we're done. We've seen the crest," Jody Melton, the Director of the Kankakee River Basin Commission, said Monday.

The river's gauge measured 10.99 feet at 9:45 a.m. Monday, and is predicted to gradually go down to about 10.5 feet in a week.

Earlier Monday, the National Weather Service predicted the river could reach 12.4 feet by Tuesday morning and threaten residents of Sumava Resorts and U.S. 41.

"I have been flabbergasted at the numbers they've been running on the Kankakee," Melton said of the National Weather Service's earlier prediction.

He said that ice jams may have caused the gauges to temporarily read higher.

A flood warning remains in effect until Monday evening -- or until cancelled -- for areas along the Kankakee River, as well as Thorn Creek and the Little Calumet River.

As of 3:15 a.m. Monday, the river was at 12.8 feet, and nearly a foot lower than 12 hours earlier, according to the National Weather Service. The early flood stage is 12 feet.

The Little Calumet River had reached a crest of at 14.1 feet, which was below the 17.31 foot level it reached in September which touched off massive flooding.