Shallow river continues to cost barge operators millions

While the low Mississippi River is a boon to Tower Rock tourism, it's an expensive pain for barge companies.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Fred Miller said the river stage at Cape Girardeau on Tuesday was 4.8 feet, but the forecast calls for it to rise by two-tenths of a foot by today. Over the next three days, the corps predicts the stage will increase to 5.7 feet, Miller said.

He estimates the trickling river is costing the barge industry millions of dollars because of limits on tonnage and how many barges can be attached to each tow.

"That reaches me and you when that causes prices to go up," Miller said.

Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard is limiting barges to an 8 1/2-foot draft, meaning that barges can only be loaded with enough goods to make the barge's underbelly sink 8 1/2 feet under water. Generally, barges are loaded to about 11 foot to 12 foot drafts.

Tows going north are limited to 24 barges and tows going south can only have 20 barges, Miller said.

Members of the barge industry have said that they've been reduced to about 50 percent of normal capacity, said Corps water control director Don Coleman.

"That equates into millions of dollars every day," he said. "It's hitting them hard."

Last week, stretches of the river were closed, in part because of low water levels. Ice also collected on buoys and uprooted them, which made tow captains unable to distinguish the deepest parts of the river, Miller said.

The river near Cape Girardeau was closed on Friday and into Saturday. An Army Corps survey boat -- called the Pathfinder -- hit rocks in this area, Miller said, and was being repaired Tuesday in Cape Girardeau. Buoys were expected to be replaced by today, he said.

None of the river was closed Tuesday, Miller said.

"It's certainly better today than it was the past couple of weeks," Miller said. "But we're still very much dependent on the weather north of here."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137