Low Water Impacts Missouri River Operations

Operators along the Missouri River are meeting the challenges caused by a fourth year in a row of low-water conditions.

Michael S. Carpenter, director of vessel operations for Magnolia Marine Transport, said that vessels are consistently running the river at an “extreme reduced draft.”

Magnolia Marine Transport carries liquid paving-grade asphalt. Because it has been necessary to reduce the amount carried per barge, the company has dedicated extra equipment to the region to meet customer demand.

“We are utilizing our shallowest draft retractable pilothouse vessels to increase our safety margins during these periods of low water,” Carpenter said. “Magnolia Marine has also built Missouri River-specific barges that allow us to tailor our approach to the given river conditions.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) predicted the Missouri River at St. Charles, Mo., to stay relatively steady at around 8 feet on the gauge, dropping as low as 7.7 feet beginning November 12.

The Corps of Engineers’ weekly update for the week of October 21 reported system storage is at 49.9 million acre-feet (MAF), which is 0.2 MAF less than the week before. A graph comparing years confirmed that amount was consistently running about 5 feet below the same period in 2024.

One bright spot was a recent weather system that dropped a widespread 1 to 2 inches of rain throughout the basin, with some localized amounts even higher.

The Gavins Point Dam is currently releasing 25,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and will be adjusted as necessary to meet downstream targets, according to the Corps of Engineers. The Corps has scheduled flow support to end at the mouth of the Missouri River on December 1.

In-person fall public meetings across the basin have been canceled due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, but a virtual public meeting will take place at 1 p.m. Central Time October 30. More information is available at www.nwd.usace.army.mil/MRWM/Public-Meetings/Meetings/.

Steve Engemann, owner and general manager of Missouri River Towing, said this year’s low-water period hit later in the season than in the past few years, with July and the first part of August being “solid” before levels started dropping.

“We’re fortunate to be able to keep running with all the improvements that the Corps of Engineers has done so far,” he said. “It’s definitely helped, but we’re running smaller tows and lighter drafts.”

Missouri River Towing is turning its tows around at Blencoe, Iowa, at Mile 681, he said, after going as far upriver as Mile 718 earlier in the year. Areas from Kansas City to near the river’s mouth near St. Louis are especially affected because of low input from tributaries, Engemann said. As a result, Missouri River Towing has restricted its southbound boats below Kansas City to daylight hours only and a draft of 8 feet, 3 inches. It has also reduced tow sizes.

Jim Sauder, operations manager for Capital Sand Company, also said the low water has caused lighter loading of his company’s barges, which transport cement and dredge sand. This leads to higher costs.

“Low water has shortened our season and productivity in the past and currently, as well,” he said.

He said this year’s low-water conditions are similar to that of the last three years. Trouble spots include the area around Lexington, Mo., (Mile 254) which is about 40 miles east of Kansas City, and also Mile 50 through Mile 60, east of Washington, Mo.

While dredging is allowed in limited areas as permitted by the Corps of Engineers, Sauder said there are sections of the river where dredging would be helpful to improve operations in low-water conditions. More water releases from the Corps would also benefit navigation, he said.

Maintaining current infrastructure is extremely important, Sauder said.

“We need to keep the safety items in place and in good working order,” he said. “More water would help, but not likely unless longer-term weather conditions change for the better.”

Carpenter said industry is working very closely with government entities, with mariners providing feedback and coordinating with the Kansas City District and maintaining open dialogue with the Corps’ entire Northwestern Division. With that collaboration, channel conditions have improved compared to years past, he said.

Carpenter said the Coast Guard had done a particularly good job of clearing brush from shore aids, which are critical to navigation by marking the outer limits of the navigation channel. Overgrowth and obstructions reduce visibility of day boards and increase the risk of grounding, he said.

Additionally, Carpenter pointed to the ability to enter real-time channel data from the Kansas City Engineer District’s channel inspectors into Rose Point navigation software as “a game changer for industry.”

“It’s no secret that navigation on the Missouri is challenging, to say the least,” Carpenter said. “Communication is the key. The shoreside support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City District out of Napoleon [Mo.] is second to none. From the person that answers the phone to the channel surveyors/inspectors, they do a tremendous job in keeping our mariners up to date with the latest information.”