This is the fifth time it has had to block salt water from moving up the river near Myrtle Grove, Louisiana - and the first time it’s had to build one in back-to-back years. Army Corps of Engineers began construction of a saltwater sill across the Mississippi in Louisiana to keep seawater out of the river, a risk whenever the river levels get too low.
Last year, the low levels contributed to about $20 billion in economic losses, according to an estimate by AccuWeather Inc. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge channels to allow ship traffic. The barges sometimes have to be loaded with less cargo to keep them riding high in the river to avoid snagging the bottom. When water levels fall, it threatens to choke shipping on the waterways and raise transportation costs. “We’re not seeing a lot of relief in sight.” Currently about 64% of the Midwest is in drought, the most in more than a decade. “We’re starting off this year low and pretty dry,” said David Welch, a hydrologist with the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. freight arteries for moving coal, oil, natural gas, chemicals and commodities. The Mississippi and Ohio rivers and their tributaries are major U.S.
are behind the falling river levels, which in 2022 also plummeted to concerningly low depths. Widespread drought across the Midwest and lower than normal rains in parts of the eastern U.S. Louis to the north, the Mississippi could fall another three feet in Memphis, it’s forecast to decline by twice as much, putting it in its low stage, too. In Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio joins the Mississippi, water levels have dropped more than six feet (1.8 meters) in the week July 7-14, and are forecast to fall more than four feet further by the end of July, pushing the Ohio River into its so-called low stage - when barges can run aground and shipping lanes are forced to narrow. Water levels on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers are falling for a second straight year, raising the prospect of shipping problems along the all-important U.S.
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