Water level low, but river traffic clear to continue

The Army Corps of Engineers stated the Mississippi River water levels are approaching "historic" lows, but it does not anticipate an interruption to river traffic.

Liam Wallace, a civil engineer with the St. Louis District Water Control for the Army Corps of Engineers, said water levels near Cape Girardeau measured a depth of 10.7 feet as of Tuesday, June 20, but are projected to dip below 9 feet by Friday.

Wallace said barges being towed require a minimum of 9 feet of river depth to be able to make it up and down between their destinations.

He said his department will be able to maintain safe water levels for river traffic navigation through a combination of dredging channels and the operation of lock and dams upstream of St. Louis and Cape Girardeau.

"We're going to do all we can to make sure our navigation is still up and running throughout the season and the whole year," Wallace said.

Wallace added that the current drought conditions are comparable to those of winter of 2022, and noted river traffic was occasionally limited but never completely halted.

He said forecasts from the National Weather Service showed the dry conditions continuing for the next two weeks.

Wallace said the river being this low at this time of year is "very uncommon," and it would take a weather event such as a hurricane sweeping up the Gulf Coast to return water levels to normal conditions for this time of year.

He also said his office coordinates with the U.S. Coast Guard and communicates what their dredge and lock and dam crews are reporting.

"If conditions do start to spiral down, it's the Coast Guard that will make any decisions regarding which parts of the river are safe for navigation and whether or not to halt traffic," Wallace said.

One positive difference this year is the Missouri River is flowing well, Wallace said, and last winter the reservoirs that drain into the Missouri River cut their releases back, which in turn "cut a lot of flow that would have benefited us."

"The Missouri is expected to have a full navigation season and is already a big help to us," Wallace said. "That should keep us from dipping too much lower than where we currently are and that's with no rain or anything."

Wallace noted conditions could change but, as of Tuesday, the Mississippi navigation channels "look good."

"We're not giving any specific advisory because we're not really seeing us going too much lower," Wallace said. "We're pretty confident that we won't see anything like the winter where we drop into the negative."