Rising Mississippi River may threaten local economies, agriculture
Higher water levels lead to a faster and more dramatic river current, which can be dangerous for river barges transporting goods down the river.
How do rising water levels threaten economies of areas along rivers?
FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes is Memphis, Tennessee investigating how farmers are monitoring the rising river water levels.
After months of low water levels, the Mississippi River now has the potential of having too much water, complicating the transportation of grain, soybeans and other crops on the river.
The Mississippi River is an important avenue for delivering agricultural products from farms in the central U.S. to ports around the country and world.
For example, the river carried 93% of the cereal grain between Illinois and Louisiana, compared to 6% by rail, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Water levels along the Mississippi were low in the fall and prevented many barges from easily transporting goods down the river.
The Diamond Lady, a once majestic riverboat, rests with smaller boats in mud at Riverside Park Marina in Martin Luther King Jr. Riverside Park along the Mississippi River on October 19, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee.
(Scott Olson / Getty Images)
Levels are rising now but to a point where it may introduce other complicating factors.
Water levels along the Mississippi River near Memphis are more than 21 feet, which is nearly a foot higher than where they were in April 2023, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
High water levels on the Mississippi River near Memphis, TN. April 2023.
(Nicole Valdes / FOX Weather)
Higher water levels lead to a faster and more dramatic river current, according to Mike Steenhoeck of the Soy Transportation Commission.
"When you're talking about 15 barges all latched together, and you're pushing it from behind, that becomes a very tricky endeavor when you've got really high degrees of current," Steenhoeck told FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes. "That can be quite, quite dangerous."
A backup of barges due to low water levels on the Mississippi along the Port of Greenville in Greenville, Mississippi, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.
(Rory Doyle / Bloomberg / Getty Images)
The higher water levels are partially due to events that occurred upstream. In the Upper Midwest, a record year of snow is now melting and flooding into waterways, such as the Mississippi River.
Another complicating factor is how much – or how little – water the ground absorbs going into spring.
During this time of year, Steenhoeck said, the ground behaves more like a tabletop than a sponge. This causes the water levels to recharge very dramatically in a very short period of time.
Boat on the Mississippi River. April 2023
(Nicole Valdes / FOX Weather)
Because of the high water levels, farmers may not be able to tie as many barges of their crops together.
By sending fewer barges down the river at a time, the pace of their deliveries may be slowed down – and in an industry involving perishable items, timing is everything.