Army Corps to Keep Mississippi River Open to Shipping

By CnAgri Print

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects no "significant interruption in navigation" on the Mississippi River due to low water levels, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said on Monday. However, shippers remained nervous about the potential for crippling restrictions.

According to Reuters, the Army Corps briefed Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate; other elected officials; and members of the agricultural industry in East Alton, Illinois, on Monday on its efforts to keep the river open following the worst U.S. drought in more than 50 years.

Some shippers of grain, coal and steel have worried the river will close to navigation on a busy stretch between St. Louis and Cairo, Illinois, due to low water. Declining water levels have already forced barge tows to lighten loads or risk groundings.

However, expected rains plus water that is being released into the river from a lake in southern Illinois should keep open the critical route to the Gulf of Mexico, Durbin said in a telephone interview after the meeting.

"There's no anticipated closure of the river," said Durbin, who plans to ask the Army Corps for an update on the situation after the end of the year.

The river and its tributaries are critical for commerce because they draw on a region that produces 90 percent of U.S. farm exports, which are key for the U.S. balance of trade. Sixty percent of grain exports go through New Orleans.

The Army Corps has been dredging the river to aid transportation and has identified other dredging ships that can be used if necessary, Durbin said.

During the weekend, it began releasing more water into the river from Carlyle Lake in southern Illinois. That move is projected to raise the river by six inches at Thebes, Illinois, by Dec. 24.

Rain or snow expected in the Midwest next week also should help increase water levels, particularly if snow melts in the upper Midwest soon, said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring.

The Army Corps has started demolishing hazardous rock pinnacles along a 15-mile stretch of river near Thebes to aid navigation.