Drought Threatens Shipping on Mississippi River [View all]
Source: NYT
The Mississippi River is still open for business — for now. January is another story.
A Midwestern drought has brought the river to water levels so low that that they threaten to shut down shipping on one of the world’s largest navigable inland waterways. The Mississippi, which carries some $7 billion in trade in a typical December and January, is expected to be closed to navigation between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., when water levels dip toward the nine feet of depth necessary for most tugboats to clear the bottom.
Those who ship goods up and down the river have asked the federal government to do two things: to destroy rock formations known as pinnacles in Southern Illinois that hinder navigation when the water is shallow, and to release more water from reservoirs along the upper Missouri River.
The Army Corps of Engineers has begun meeting the first request, using excavating equipment to break down the formations. Officials said the work should take 30 to 45 days.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/us/drought-threatens-shipping-on-mississippi-river.html
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