Corps strives to keep Mississippi River open during drought

As one of the worst droughts in modern history continues to shrink the width and depth of the Mississippi River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has more than a dozen dredging vessels working to keep the river open to commercial traffic this summer, The New York Times reports. Despite being fed by water flowing in from more than 40% of the United States, the river is relatively powerless against the ruinous drought affecting so much of the Midwest. Some stretches are nearing the record low-water marks experienced in 1988, when river traffic was suspended in several spots. That is unlikely this year, however, because of careful engineering work to keep the largest inland marine system in the world passable. Still, tow operators are dealing with the shallower channel by hauling fewer barges, loading them more lightly and running them more slowly, and as a consequence, raising their costs. Since May, about 60 vessels have run aground in the lower Mississippi. The volume of water coming down the river is so abnormally low this summer that a wedge of saltwater is actually creeping up the Mississippi toward New Orleans, imperiling local water supplies drawn from the river. The corps is building a sill—basically, a dam of sediment—in the river below New Orleans low enough to block the flow of saltwater while letting boats pass. Read the full story here.