Hutchinson ? Water is still causing problems for the city zoo, more than two weeks after flooding closed it down.

Hutchinson Zoo has been closed since a storm on May 23 that caused water to spill out of its lagoons and swamp exhibits and walkways. Water in the basement of the zoo’s gift shop and office building was as deep as 10 inches, and now eight sump pumps are running to keep it dry.

“With the eight pumps running, we’re holding our own now,” said Charlotte Poepperling, the zoo’s director. “We’ll be staying dry if we don’t trip a breaker.”

It’s been difficult to assess the full extent of damage to the zoo’s buildings, Poepperling said.

The city-owned zoo doesn’t have flood insurance, but Poepperling believes Hutchinson’s risk management funding will cover some damages. She also hopes the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help.

Many of the animals have been sent to zoos in El Dorado and Wichita, while others deal with the water.

Most of the area for the zoo’s mule buck deer is under water, Poepperling said, and a trailer was brought in to give the animal a dry place to rest. “But he can’t live that way for months,” she added.

The floodwaters allowed the zoo’s female river otter, Kyra, to escape from her exhibit into the flooded lagoon, where staff caught her.

“We’re adding to the heights of things to keep her in the exhibit, but every day’s a new adventure,” Poepperling said.

It’s unclear how long the water will remain, with the floodwater level changing little in the past two weeks. The groundwater level is high, so the lagoon is not receding.

“We just have to wait and let nature take its course,” Poepperling said. “And that’s not easy.”

Poepperling said city workers considered pumping water out of the zoo, but it was decided that wouldn’t work because groundwater continues to seep into the lagoon.

Meanwhile, zoo staff and members of the Hutchinson Friends of the Zoo hope to persuade businesses to help create a veterinary building for the zoo on higher ground, where animals could be cared for until the water recedes.