The Hurley, a U.S. Corps of Engineers dustpan dredge, moved into position in the middle of the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau this week to remove sand and silt from the navigation channel of the river.

The Hurley, 300 feet long, is capable of removing over 5,000 cubic yards of silt from the river's bottom each hour.

"It works like vacuum, pumping material from the bottom of the river. Pipelines are extended from the dredge to the shore, dumping the sand and silt there," said Sam Robinson, chief of communications of the Corps telecommunications and electronics at Memphis.

With seriously low water levels in the Mississippi, the Corps is working to keep the river and its tributaries open for commercial navigation.

"The river's channel is maintained at a depth of nine feet." said Jim Pogue, of the Corps Memphis District office.

When combined with dikes and other river works, dredging is considered a cost-effective method of flood control and navigation on the river.

The Hurley operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day from June to November.

The Corps has been watching the persistently low waters level since January, said Pogue.

The low waters brings back memories of 1988, and some of the lowest Mississippi levels in history.

"The river was closed a couple of weeks in '88," said Pogue. The water levels in 1988 were not much difference from current levels. The 1988 levels at Memphis were a record minus 10.7.

"The river at Memphis in January of this year dropped to minus 9.2," said Pogue. "But, since 1988, dredging and other river work has allowed barge traffic to continue. We've made a lot of improvements since 1988."

The current Memphis level is minus 10.2.

While the Hurley pumps sand near Cape Girardeau, another dredge is at work in the Caruthersville, Mo. harbor. The cutterhead dredge cuts into existing banks of the harbor to removed junk.