While barge traffic on the Mississippi River has slowed dramatically in the middle of a lingering drought, waterways such as the Tenn-Tom, which are controlled by a series of locks and dams, are not as impacted by reduced rain.
And though traffic restrictions are currently backing up barges on the Mississippi River, the Tenn-Tom has yet to see an increase in traffic.
Tenn-Tom Waterway Navigations Manager Roger Wilson told The Dispatch that while the waterway isn’t as affected by the drought, the amount of cargo one can tow is still smaller than what companies can float down the Mississippi River.
“They’re still able to pass like 24-barge tows,” Wilson said of the larger Mississippi River vessels. “We only can pass eight barges in total. So until they get to that point where they can’t pass eight barges in total, I think that’s when we start seeing a rise.”
According to a 2022 freight transportation report by the National Waterways Foundation, barges are still the cheapest way to ship products like grains, soybeans and even oil down to the Gulf of Mexico. In the report, it only takes one barge to carry 1,750 tons of dry product like grain or rice, while it would take 16 railcars or 70 semi-trucks to carry that same load.
The National Weather Service defines a drought as a prolonged period of abnormally dry weather due to a lack of rainfall. It has affected much of the Southeast since September has left depths in the lower Mississippi River at a historic low, Coast Guard Petty Officer Gabriel Wisdom said.
Wisdom told The Dispatch the Coast Guard and corps have reduced traffic on the Mississippi in areas where the depth is lowest to one-way paths going north and south and have also instructed that barges must not sink into the water past nine feet, meaning the amount of cargo they carry is reduced while the corps and the Coast Guard work to dredge and alleviate the water conditions.
“The Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service and the Army Corps of Engineers are imposing restrictions in certain parts of the waterways,” Wisdom said. “But no part of the waterway is currently closed. Some of them are just restricted to one-way traffic.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 700 barges were waiting to pass through the Mississippi due to water conditions. The cap on the cargo loads also means that companies carrying products like grain, rice, soybeans and oil may need to use more barges to carry the same amount of goods, Wisdom said.
The Tenn-Tom
Mobile District Corps of Engineers Manager of Operations Justin Murphree told The Dispatch the Tenn-Tom can still guarantee nine feet of depth for the eight-barge tows that float up and down the waterway. While it has yet to see an increase in traffic, it is now encouraging companies struggling to use the Mississippi River to redirect to the Tenn-Tom if they cannot reach the coast fast enough.
“When it comes to those barges, it’s the fact that we have deep water,” Murphree said. “It’s an alternate path to the Gulf that’s open and reliable.”
Murphree said the main reason the Tenn-Tom isn’t seeing a higher traffic volume is because the Mississippi River is still open, just at reduced traffic, and that the Tenn-Tom can only allow for eight-barge tows. If the drought worsens, however, Murphree expects to see some increase.
He said the Tenn-Tom isn’t as affected by droughts because of the 10-plus locks and dams built on the Tombigbee river to control water levels and manage traffic.
“The reason we have so many is because of the elevation difference between Pickwick Lake (in Florence, Alabama), where the Tenn-Tom starts, and the south end of the Tenn-Tom,” Murphree said. “When you have that elevation difference, those dams help hold that water back.”
According to traffic numbers provided by Murphree and Wilson, the local Stennis Lock and Dam provides passage for about 1,200 commercial vessels a year. About 300 boats, both commercial and domestic, passed through Stennis in the last month. The corps also reports more than 8 million tons of cargo annually. In comparison, its Vicksburg District office reported 681 million tons on the Mississippi River.
“We average between three to five commercial lockages a day,” Wilson said. We’re still tracking that, but we’re not seeing an increase in traffic at all.”
When will the drought end?
But as winter settles in, the drought is expected to continue at least through the end of January 2023, according to a seasonal drought outlook report by the National Weather Service.
In the meantime, the corps and the Coast Guard are working together to keep traffic moving through the Mississippi River and dredge certain areas where water levels are seeing historic lows. Still, Wisdom said he is not sure when the situation will be fully alleviated.
“This is an ongoing event,” he said. “Between the Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we’re continuing to adapt to it.
Whether dredging, remarking channels or implementing new restrictions or closures, our teams are out there. They will continue to work and service the channels to ensure the safe flow of commerce through the Mississippi River.”
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