Flooding deals another blow to already lagging Missouri River shipping
After being shortened because of drought, the barge traffic season on the Missouri River has lost another 10 days due to flooding.
Relentless rainfall in the upper Missouri River Basin during the first week in May, and in western and central Missouri the following week, caused river levels in Jefferson City to rise as high as 30 feet 7 inches above flood stage and higher than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allows for barge traffic.
On May 8, when the Missouri River in Jefferson City swelled to 25 feet 7 inches, the Corps shut down barge traffic — a waning but still valuable mode of commercial/industrial transportation. The Corps re-opened river for shipping on May 18.
Those 10 days subtracted from the navigation schedule occurred in the middle of an already significantly shortened traffic season on the Missouri River, a trend that has persisted in the past decade due to droughts in the upper river basin. Over time, drought has depleted reservoirs in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, causing a record low level of material shipped on the river in 2006.
Jefferson City River Terminal Port Captain Bob Cox said barge traffic is down even further so far this year.
“We haven’t had the same traffic levels in the first six weeks of the navigation season as we had the last couple of years,” he said.
Businesses that partially rely on the river to move goods to the Jefferson City area are accustomed to the waterway’s lagging accountability. Though products can be transported more cheaply by way of the river, the use of rail lines and tractor-trailers is employed to ensure fewer delays in deliveries.
Missouri Farmers Association, stationed directly across the river from Jefferson City, receives fertilizer by way of a barge from St. Louis.
“The water levels in St. Louis haven’t affected us yet,” says Ben Steinman of MFA. “It is possible but doubtful.”
Although halted barge traffic hasn’t yet affected MFA, the rising water levels in the past weeks did cause the need for goods to be evacuated.
“We did lose some sales recently,” Steinman says. “We loaded what we had in about 12 tractor-trailers one day. Most customers were pretty understanding, but I’m sure we lost some business to possibly Pay Way (Feed Store) or Stockman’s (Feed and Fertilizer).”
A representative at Stockman’s says business has picked up recently, but whether MFA’s decision to temporarily move its goods affected that is unknown.
Whether the water level is high or low on the Missouri, businesses continue to adjust their business plans to meet the fluctuating, tempestuous river. Although the recent rainfall has further diminished the navigation season, the influx of precipitation has delivered one benefit — drought-ravaged reservoirs received temporary relief. Water releases from Gavins Point Dam in Nebraska were reduced to record low levels. This time of year normally requires between 22,000 and 25,000 cubic feet of water to be released each second; this May, releases have averaged only 8,600 cubic feet per second.
“Being able to reduce discharge from the reservoirs has saved water,” about a foot-and-a-half in each of the three reservoirs, Cox said. “That’s a good thing.”