State claims Missouri River level reaching record lows

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri River has dipped to its lowest recorded summer levels since the 1950s, when the once free-flowing waterway was restrained with a series of reservoirs constructed in upstream states, Missouri officials said.

The National Weather Service is projecting the river will continue to fall to levels not seen since the drought of the 1930s -- long before reservoirs were built, the state said.

In compliance with a federal judge's order in a lawsuit brought by environmentalists, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slowed water releases from upstream dams from 26,000 cubic feet per second, or cfs, to 21,000 cfs beginning Aug. 12 and continuing for three days.

Those reduced river flows are just now being noticed on parts of Missouri.

At Hermann, for example, the Missouri River stage was reported at 3.5 feet Thursday morning. River stage figures do not represent the actual depth of the water, but rather the depth relative to a scale developed years ago.

The state Department of Natural Resources said Friday that the Hermann checkpoint set a record low for the summer early Thursday afternoon, with a flow of 34,700 cfs -- barely breaking the summer record of 34,900 cfs set Aug. 10, 2002.

But Chad Smith of American Rivers, a national nonprofit conservation group, on Friday disputed the state's figures. He said the flow at Hermann was 35,400 cfs on Thursday -- not as low as last summer. Smith said the actual depth of the river was around 14 feet at Hermann and had declined only about one foot because of the lower water releases from upstream dams.

Mike Wells, the department's chief of water resources, said it was "preposterous" to suggest the river was 14 feet deep, noting that the minimum navigational depth of the channel is around 8 feet and barges and boats are having trouble operating.

As the river has fallen, water temperatures have risen and are close to exceeding Missouri's water quality standards, said the state Department of Natural Resources.

Low water levels have halted barge shipping and also could affect power generation, because Missouri River water is used as a coolant by several electricity plants.

"Part of the reason the Missouri River is low is drought conditions that exist in the region," Missouri Gov. Bob Holden said in a statement. "However, another reason is that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not releasing enough water to meet its obligations in the lower Missouri River."

Conservation group contend in their lawsuit that the Army Corps of Engineers previously has violated the Endangered Species Act by blocking the river flow changes. They want the river to ebb and flow more naturally to encourage spawning and nesting to protect the least tern, piping plover and pallid sturgeon -- fish and shorebirds on the government's list of threatened and endangered species.

Various Missouri River lawsuits recently were assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson in Minnesota. Earlier this month, he upheld another judge's order for the corps to reduce water releases from Missouri River dams. He has scheduled a status conference for Sept. 8.

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On the Net:

Department of Natural Resources: http://www.dnr.state.mo.us