Transportation
12:14 pm
Thu July 19, 2012
Mississippi & Ohio Rivers Still Navigable
The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers continue to drop as the Midwest endures one of the worst droughts in decades.
SEMO Port Authority Executive Director Dan Overby say the Army Corps of Engineers plans to dredge the harbor early next week. That should help keep goods flowing out of the Scott City port. River levels are low right now, but Overby says they are not quite low enough to cause disruption.
"if the Corps didn't show up, the barges would be dragging bottom and then you could start, you know, getting another foot lower, and you're really up the creek, no pun intended." -- Dan Overby, SEMO Port Authority
But, Overby says that could change when you look at the fact that we're still here in the middle of July and have the typically dry months of August and September yet to go.
Overby says the Corps typically does not dredge the harbor until Labor Day.
This year, Congress passed supplemental funding to cover dredging costs for ports. That’s in contrast to the last two years, when the SEMO Port Authority had to cover its own dredging expenses.