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Mississippi River’s water levels near record lows, affecting the supply chain, farmers

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Sections of the Mississippi River are approaching low water levels not seen in more than three decades, disrupting a vital supply lane for agriculture, oil and building materials and threatening businesses including barge and towboat operators, farmers and factories.

The low water, caused by a lack of rain in the Ohio River Valley and the Upper Mississippi, has halted commercial traffic and river boat cruises at numerous spots below Illinois. Prices to ship goods have more than doubled in a matter of weeks. Barges are grounding on sandbars in unprecedented numbers and many ports and docks no longer have water deep enough for commercial boats to safely reach them. […]

Historically, shipping along the Mississippi River and its tributaries has been less expensive than other forms of transportation, but with fewer boats and barges able to transport goods, prices have skyrocketed. The cost of sending a ton of corn, soybeans or other grains southbound from St. Louis to southern Louisiana reached $105.85 on Oct. 11, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On Sept. 27, the cost was $49.88. On Oct. 5, 2021, it was $28.45.

Farmers and factories in the central U.S. are rushing to secure the shrinking number of spots or find alternate supply routes. Rail, the other main option for crops and dry goods, is usually costlier and difficult to secure as railroads haven’t been able to hire enough workers to meet demand.

* The Guardian…

The water in the Mississippi River has dropped so low that barges are getting stuck, leading to expensive dredging and at least one recent traffic jam of more than 2,000 vessels backed up.

The Mississippi River Basin produces nearly all – 92% – of US agricultural exports, and 78% of the global exports of feed grains and soybeans. The recent drought has dropped water levels to alarmingly low levels that are causing shipping delays, and seeing the costs of alternative transport, such as rail, rise. […]

Last Friday, the US Coast Guard said that there was a backup of more than 2,000 barges at various points, Bloomberg reported. The halted barges were carrying recently harvested corn and soybeans.

“When the water gets low enough, commerce starts to slow – commerce is restricted, and it turns into an extremely difficult environment to operate,” Austin Golding, president of Golding Barge Line, told WAPT-TV.

* AP…

Plummeting water levels in the lower Mississippi River are projected to drop even further in the weeks ahead, a projection shows, dampening the region’s economic activity and potentially threatening jobs in one of the country’s poorest states.

In Vicksburg, on the Mississippi river’s east bank near the Louisiana line, the water is approaching its lowest level since 2012. The river’s level near that Mississippi city on Thursday was 4.3 feet (1.3 meters), and it is projected to drop to 3 feet (0.9 meters) by Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

A dearth of rainfall in recent weeks has left the Mississippi River approaching record low levels in some areas across several states. Nearly all of the Mississippi River basin, from Minnesota through Louisiana, has seen below-normal rainfall since late August. The low levels have caused barges to get stuck in mud and sand, disrupting river travel for shippers, recreational boaters and passengers on a cruise line.

The lower portion of a Vicksburg bridge, normally submerged in the river, has been exposed to sunlight in recent days. The American Heritage, a paddlewheeler cruise ship, navigated the river with caution.

* The Washington Post…

The transportation industry says the intervention is needed to maintain a flow of exports that is central to the country’s agriculture industry. About 60 percent of U.S. corn and soybean exports move down the Mississippi, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio and Tennessee rivers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Commerce is moving, albeit very slowly,” said Deb Calhoun, a senior vice president for the Waterways Council, a transportation industry group. “Ultimately, we need rain, and lots of it.”

[…]
The Mississippi has changed so much from its natural state, it has become “a volatile system,” said Robert Criss, a professor emeritus of earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Though that volatility is often most evident during floods, Criss said his research shows it can affect the river on a day-to-day basis.

“You don’t want things being unpredictable, and that’s what we have,” he said. “We have an unpredictable river.”

* CNN…

Tower Rock – a massive island in the middle of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis – is typically surrounded by water and only accessible by boat. But as severe drought spreads across the Midwest and pushes river levels to record lows, people can now reach the rock formation on foot.

“The river has dropped low enough that you can walk over to Tower Rock and not get your feet wet or muddy,” Missouri resident Jeff Miget told CNN. “I only remember being able to do this one other time in my life.”

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Photos taken by Miget show people hiking across the rocky river bed to the island tower, a trek posing little risk in the near-term as water levels are expected to continue to drop for at least the next two weeks.

Tower Rock can be reached on foot when the water level is below 1.5 feet at the Chester, Illinois, river gauge, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The gauge dropped to around zero on Thursday and shows no sign of significant recovery in the forecast.

Tower Rock before…

Tower Rock now…

posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 10:19 am

Comments

This is the most depressing thing I’ve read so far today.

Comment by Curious citizen Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 10:37 am
Maybe the Corps of Engineers should check for a rogue drain tunneled-in from the West. /s

Comment by XonXoff Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 10:42 am
Concerning to be sure, but it seems to be a short-term anomaly. Research by NOAA and others is showing that climate change is making the Mississippi River watershed wetter. https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/Technical_Version_Upper_MS_River_Communicating_CC.pdf

Comment by Sangamo Girl Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 10:46 am
I didn’t realize drought had spread because its been a wet year here. Quick check of US Drought Monitor shows central Il is normal. Everywhere else is in drought. Calls into question the West’s idea of Mississippi pipelines for their aridification.

Comment by Anotheretiree Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 10:52 am
The federal government has spent billions on waterway infrastructure on the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers. Trade organizations are always clamoring for more. Hope this is wake-up call to be very careful with infrastructure investments in our new Era of climate change.

Comment by Sir Reel Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:01 am
Tower Rock is across from Grand Tower, IL which is about 35 miles south of Chester (which has the only vehicle bridge across the river between St. Louis and Cape). In the 60’s & 70’s there a ferry, but no current mention now. There was a great restaurant, Ma Hales. They served fried chicken that rivaled Giant City Lodge, It was very popular with impoverished SIUC students.

Comment by Annonin' Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:09 am
There still is a ferry that crosses from St. Genevieve, Mo. to Modoc, IL. But it is closed at the moment

Comment by Digity Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:25 am
There still is a ferry that crosses from St. Genevieve, Mo. to Modoc, IL. But it is closed at the moment

Comment by Digity Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:25 am
Ol’ man river he just keeps rolling along. The mighty Mississippi is dynamic. Some years flood –some years drought. Some months too little rain, some months too much rain. Be appropriately suspicious of hype and “fixes”.

Comment by Responsa Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:29 am
This is a very deal - particularly at this time of the year. We are seeing the early frost on the upper river and this is the busiest time of the year. To be continued.

Comment by Cannon649 Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:33 am
responsa. you are correct. prior to the levee system, the mighty Mississippi fluctuated wildly each and every year.my dad tell stories of walking across the river to Tower Rock.

Comment by Blue Dog Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:35 am
Walked out to Tower Rock on 15 September 2012. Plan to go back in next couple weeks and do it again.

Comment by MoralMinority Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:37 am
BTW. the college kids now get their fried chicken fix on Wednesday night at the Tin Barn in Neunert. right up the road.

Comment by Blue Dog Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:37 am
Grand Tower is also the Illinois side of the longest pipeline suspension bridge.

Anywho, sounds like a damned dam is called for down in the delta, no?

Comment by We've never had one before Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 11:47 am
It’s a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi mud.

Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 12:20 pm
Ma Hales brought a flood of memories…Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans sliced tomatoes/mushrooms…served country style in Ma’s dining room at the big table…and fun hippie times with good friends.

Comment by Dotnonymous Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 12:37 pm
Europe is also facing serious problems with record low water levels. This summer, the Rhine and Danube rivers were too low for some of the cruise ships and barges to safely navigate. Some goods were being shipped on water but the barges were carrying loads at 25% meaning shipping costs were soaring. September rains have helped tremendously and the rivers are now deep enough for larger loads and cruise ships at full capacity.

Comment by Nearly Normal Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 12:59 pm
Shippers get more nervous about low river in the fall. Heavy fall rains are not the norm and a low river freezes quicker than a high one too.

So it will take a soggy end of October and much of November to get the river back to a good navigational depth. The only good thing is the lock and dam system from St. Louis north on the Mississippi and Illinois can hold the “pool” a little higher. So goods can make it to St. Louis still this fall and then fingers crossed a wet end to fall allows that portion of the river to rise south of St. Louis, because you can ship down river almost 12 months a year (lack of ice)

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 1:07 pm
Meant with humor. Could Baylee tie this to Chicago becoming #2 with Vampires?

Comment by Jerry Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 1:12 pm
===Calls into question the West’s idea of Mississippi pipelines for their aridification.===

Between the Rockies & the West being closer to the Pacific Ocean, it should pay close attention to the desalination going on in the Middle East ….

Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 1:54 pm
“desalination going on in the Middle East”

California just approved one: https://tinyurl.com/38644c2k

Comment by Proud Sucker Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 2:12 pm
===Calls into question the West’s idea of Mississippi pipelines for their aridification.===

Pretty much an impossible task to move Mississippi River water to the Colorado. But if you reasonably could it would be great to pump away all spring and fill those reservoirs up to start the year.

And then Lake Mead could have an invasive Asian carp problem too.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 2:27 pm
@Sangamo Girl -

Yeah I would not be so sure about that.

Yes, more rain is coming.

But also, wetlands are disappearing.

Wetlands allow rivers and their tributaries to cache heavy rains, slowly releasing the excess over time to maintain stable river system levels.

Instead, we are diking off those wetlands.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Oct 17, 22 @ 3:45 pm