With the Rock River still more than five feet above flood stage Sunday, Jefferson remained a major trouble spot for flooding in Wisconsin.

Bridges were still closed, leaving the city divided by the swollen river, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff 's Department.

The Rock River in Jefferson was at 15.179 feet at 2 p.m. Sunday, down from a crest of 15.64 feet on Wednesday, according to the North Central River Forecast Center of the National Weather Service. Further downriver in Rock County, the river crested at 5 feet above flood stage at about 1 p.m. Saturday at Newville.

Jefferson Utilities said on its Web site that drinking water in the city is safe, but residents were asked to minimize water usage and avoid pumping out flooded basements into floor drains to reduce water flowing into the sanitary sewer system.

More major roads remained closed in Jefferson County than elsewhere in southern Wisconsin. Among the closures were Highway 19 between Watertown and Waterloo and Highway K between Jefferson and Fort Atkinson.

Road closures

Here are other flooding-related road closures reported by sheriff 's dispatchers:

COLUMBIA COUNTY: Highway 33 west of Portage and some town roads remained closed.

DODGE COUNTY: Water is receding in Beaver Dam, although some road closures remain in the county.

IOWA COUNTY: The county was making progress Sunday in flood recovery and Avoca remained a focus of cleanup efforts.

MARQUETTE COUNTY: Main Street (Highway 22) in Montello remained closed near the dam.

RICHLAND COUNTY: One mile of Highway 130 north of Lone Rock remained closed.

ROCK COUNTY: Riverside Park Road/Parkside Drive along the Rock River in Janesville remained closed and flooding continued to plague the Charley 's Bluff neighborhood north of Janesville.

SAUK COUNTY: Highway U north of Highway 33 was closed and Highway W at Highway 113 was restricted to emergency traffic only. A few town roads remained closed.

VERNON COUNTY: Highway Y between East Smith Road and Avalanche and a lot of town roads remained closed.

Rain had little impact

Weak, scattered rain showers and thunderstorms Sunday afternoon brought between 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches of rain to some isolated areas of southcentral Wisconsin, but National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Franks said it would not have a significant effect on flooding.

He said the heaviest rains didn 't fall on the areas that had the worst flooding and would not significantly affect river levels.

Areas of Green Lake and western Fond du Lac counties received the most rain, at 1 1/2 inches, with areas of southcentral Dane County and Waukesha receiving between 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches of rain. Many other areas received less.

The forecast for today and Tuesday is mostly clear throughout southcentral Wisconsin.

Good fishing ahead

Recent flooding should help the state 's fish population, according to a state Department of Natural Resources biologist.

"All in all, it 's a very good thing in big river systems to have these periodic floods, " said Don Bush, a DNR fisheries biologist.

"There should be some good fishing. "

He said flood conditions increase the number of newborn fish during hatches. Also, fish can find new habitat and food, he said.

George Powers, who was at Lake Ripley Dead End Bar & Bait in Cambridge Thursday, said the minnows are hatching like crazy in Lake Koshkonong.

The minnows are swimming in parts of the lake where he has never seen them before, he said.

The flooding also may hinder anglers from rushing back to their local fishing spots. Bob Clark of Trep 's Bait & Tackle in Indianford said the fishing business has been slow lately, but he expects anglers will return when the water recedes.