Mississippi River hits low water levels for 3rd year in a row

MEMPHIS, Tenn — Experts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District say for the third consecutive year, the Mississippi River is experiencing low water levels.

The river is about four feet above the record low set last October, said Michael Clay, Chief Of Hydraulics and Hydrology. However, he says he believes we are heading in that direction.

“We are currently about 10 feet below the stages you’d expect to see for the month of September,” said Clay.

Experts say despite the low levels, the river is maintaining operation due to various procedures and structures the Corps has in place to keep navigation open.

They say the Coast Guard has even put out advisories limiting how much barges and vessels can carry on the river.

Experts say this could be challenging for industries moving food and farm products going into the harvest season.

“So, when the river goes down, you will see in the industry an increase in costs because they have to utilize more barges to move the same amount of product,” said Col. Brian Sawser, Memphis District Commander.

Clay says he is thankful for the rain that is expected to reach the mid-south due to the landfall of Hurricane Francine.

“The further north it goes, the more rainfall is going to end up in our reach of the Mississippi River which is where we need it desperately,” said Clay.

Experts say the rain is predicted to bring upwards of four inches in the Memphis area, but Clay says this won’t be a complete fix.

“Where that rain is falling, it’s pretty low in the Mississippi River basin and not up in the Missouri, not up in the Ohio River basins where it can contribute a long duration of flow to our reach of the river,” said Clay.

He says they anticipate the forecasts over the next couple of days will show a slowdown in the decreases in the water levels or at least keep them from reaching record lows.

Experts say at this time there have been issues at the ports due to the low water levels.

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