Recent rain provides little river relief

Barge traffic is out of immediate danger, but state officialsa are still worried about river travel this fall.

Despite recent rains, the governor's office said Tuesday that continued drought conditions could halt barge traffic on the Mississippi River this fall if water from northern reservoirs is not released.

Gov. Matt Blunt on Friday asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to order major water releases from the reservoirs to support barge traffic on the river.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, Corps officials hadn't responded to the written request. Telephone messages left at the corps offices in St. Louis, Memphis and Omaha were not returned Tuesday.

Recent storms have helped, causing a slight rise in the river level. "Certainly the barge traffic is out of the immediate danger of grounding," said Blunt's press secretary, Jessica Robinson.

But river levels are still low. The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau stood at 8.3 feet on the gauge and rising Tuesday, up from 6.5 feet on Saturday.

As a result of the widespread drought, Blunt also has urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare 112 of 114 counties in Missouri agriculture disaster areas. The declaration would allow farmers to obtain low-interest loans.

Robinson said the declaration could come by Friday or early next week.

While farm fields have suffered, the drought also has hampered barge traffic and raised concerns over the federal government's management of the Missouri River, which feeds into the Mississippi River.

"The river is one of those things like electricity. You don't think about it until it doesn't work," said Robinson.

A new federal management plan for the Missouri River provides for a shortened navigation season for barge traffic this year. Usually the navigation season runs from March to November. Now the season is scheduled to end on Oct. 10, which means the Army Corps of Engineers won't be releasing reservoir water for navigation after that date, she said.

The new management plan shortens the navigation season when Missouri River reservoir levels drop to 45 percent of capacity, Robinson said. That's important because the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi River, providing 35 percent of the volume of water in that river, Robinson said.

The summer drought already has backed up freight. Barges have been hauling lighter loads because of low water levels on the Mississippi River.

Pat McCarthy, one of the managers of Memco Barge Lines, said his company's southbound barges currently are operating at a 9 -1/2 -foot draft instead of the normal 12-foot draft. The draft is the depth of a barge below the water.

With the low level of the river, each Memco barge is carrying about 1,700 tons of cargo. That's about 400 tons per barge less than the normal loads, McCarthy said.

Some barge companies are carrying even less, choosing to operate with a 9-foot draft, he said. That means it takes more barges to move cargo and drives up freight costs, said McCarthy. Memco is based in St. Louis but has an office in Cape Girardeau.

The recent rains have helped, but only for the short term, McCarthy said.

Robinson said the federal management plan and the drought have combined to create "the perfect storm" to disrupt barge traffic.

The Corps of Engineers has been dredging to keep navigation channels open. But Robinson said river levels could drop again without added rainfall or additional reservoir water in the coming weeks.

"Truly, the barge industry could be stopped," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123