Photos taken in the Central United States depict the devastation of the region’s worst drought in at least a decade, which has led to record-low water levels in the Mississippi River.
The precipitous decline is unprecedented since 1988, when a severe drought ravaged much of Middle America.
The halting of barge operations on the lower Mississippi as a result of shallow sections caused by record low flows and unseasonable dryness was a major, largely unanticipated consequence of the drought at that time.
Now, over four decades later, history is repeating itself, as a section of the vital river near Memphis plunged to -10.75 feet this week – the lowest level ever recorded in the state.
As a result, cargo barges and other vessels that transport billions of dollars’ worth of products across the vital river have become trapped and stranded frequently, endangering waterborne commerce and the livelihoods of employees.
It is a significant worry for those who transport and produce these items, which are typically grains and corn cultivated by local farmers, from a river basin that accounts for 92% of the nation’s agricultural exports.
This is especially true during the harvest season, which is currently in full swing and will conclude in December.
Photographs taken in the Central United States depict the devastation of the region’s worst drought in a decade, which has led to record-low water levels in the Mississippi River.
The precipitous decline is unprecedented since 1988, when a severe drought ravaged much of Middle America.
Now, over forty years later, history is repeating itself, when a stretch of the vital river near Memphis fell to -10.75 feet last week.
Frequent strandings of cargo barges and other vessels transporting billions of dollars’ worth of products down the river endanger waterborne commerce and the livelihoods of workers.
It is a significant worry for those who transport and produce these items, which are typically grain and corn cultivated by local farmers, from a river basin that accounts for 92% of the nation’s agricultural exports.
Drone footage obtained this week of areas of the river near Memphis demonstrates how much it has receded, with some locations where boats once passed now completely dry.
Throughout the river basin, residents of states such as Illinois and Louisiana saw similar conditions, with water level gauges falling to record lows.
This week, the river was at record low levels in Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri. The river flows 2,350 miles from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
Officials expect the situation to worsen in the next weeks as the forecast stays persistently dry, while shipping companies warn that the widespread reductions are generating navigational difficulties not seen since 1988.
The river is the primary conduit for US crop exports to the Gulf, including maize, soybeans, and other grains.
New Orleans-origin fertilizer and imported petroleum are also transported via sections of the critical waterway, along with imported steel and imported fertilizer.
Since then, officials have warned that the recent dryness and low water levels put such commerce in jeopardy, as droughts have historically resulted in billions of dollars in trade losses for the country, as well as for the farmers who labor all year to cultivate these crops, who are left with dwindling transport options.
Missouri’s Tower Rock, which is often surrounded by the Mississippi, is a popular tourist destination.
The river, which flows 2,350 miles from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, is currently at levels not seen in almost four decades.
In 2012, for instance, the Great Plains drought, which dramatically reduced the Mississippi’s water levels, cost the United States $35 billion and compelled officials to close the river at least three times.
A decade later, the river has experienced similarly disruptive closures, with more than 100 vessels and 2,000 barges backed up near Stack Island in Mississippi earlier this month due to one such closure.
According to the Coast Guard, another shutdown near Memphis generated comparable backlogs, which exacerbated the problem.
In the meantime, drought conditions stretched farther across the Midwest and South this week, with the dry spell now encompassing almost half of the contiguous United States with moderate or worse drought conditions — the third-highest level recorded so far this year.
More than 134 million people are impacted by the persistent drought, the greatest proportion of the nation’s population since 2016.
The river is the primary conduit for US exports of corn, soybeans, and other crops to the Gulf of Mexico.
Wheat, cotton, rice, and alfalfa are at risk, according to officials, because of declining water levels and supplies caused by the dry season that began in the early 1980s and has been connected to climate change.
Millions of farmers in the American Midwest, West, and South, who were already hopelessly handicapped by inflation and pandemic-related supply chain backlogs, have been further impeded by the exceptional dry period.
Moreover, according to scientists, this is the greatest drought the region has experienced in over 1200 years, and it is directly related to climate change.
A recent analysis from the Farm Bureau, an insurance business and lobbying organization that serves agricultural interests, indicates that 37 percent of farmers from the Great Plains to California are destroying immature crops, up 13 percent from previous year.
The bureau reports that one-third of farmers have been damaging or removing orchard trees and other multi-year crops, an increase from seventeen percent the previous year.
In the meantime, two-thirds of respondents reported selling off portions of their herd or flock in an effort to salvage their financial situation.
The drought, now in its 23rd year, has left millions of Californians without water, prompting the US Bureau of Reclamation to issue emergency petitions urging residents to cut their water consumption for the next year and a half.
Experts attribute a significant portion of the water loss to evaporation produced by the region’s extremely high temperatures and low humidity over the previous decade, especially in the American Southwest, which has also been affected by the megadrought.
The combination of severe heat and limited precipitation is sucking moisture from plants and soil, creating conditions that are conducive to wildfires.
Wildfire season has grown longer and more ferocious, temperatures have surpassed records, and lakes are drying up.
Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and South Dakota are among the 15 states with the lowest levels of precipitation between June and September this year. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, Nebraska has experienced its third-driest summer periods ever.
Jeffrey Graschel, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, told the Post that if the river continues to’remain dry over the rest of the year, levels might be considerably worse than in 2012′ if these concerns persist.
It remains to be seen how much precipitation we will receive throughout the next month to three months.
Graschel predicted that if the drought persists, dry conditions could surpass those of 2012 and possibly reach the severity of the 1988 water shortage.
Some sections of the river are reading in the negative, well below typical water levels, endangering the drinking water of households whose water supply is dependent on the river.
This is because the force of fresh water leaving the river and entering the Gulf of Mexico is no longer sufficient to drive back the salty water from the Gulf.
The low water levels along the Mississippi coincide with a crucial time of year for the delivery of crops from the nation’s heartland. As a result, the Army Corps of Engineers has dredged sections of the river to keep traffic moving, albeit at a painfully slow rate.
Thousands of barges and vessels are currently backed up along various stretches of the waterway, with hundreds waiting in line to pass through the dangerously low water levels.
In the meantime, major barge companies along the Mississippi have been forced to turn away business because they are unable to meet the demand for grains, metals, and other items previously committed for transportation due to the fivefold increase in shipping costs.
And until it rains, pricing will remain unchanged, since sections of the once-overflowing river now resemble a scene from Lawrence of Arabia.
“It sort of like the Sahara desert over there,” said Lake County Mayor Danny Cook, whose county is located along the Mississippi just north of Memphis.
This week, the mayor told Nola.com that this is the first time he has ever seen the river this dry.
“This is without a doubt the lowest I’ve ever seen it,” Cook said.
He stated that the outlook is bleak for the numerous farmers in his community and the millions of others along the ancient river.
“Right now, your farmers are harvesting their stuff — their grain, their corn, their wheat, and so on,” Cook continued.
‘They’re attempting to transport it to the granaries and the market, but as you can see, with the channel the way it is, you cannot have the necessary number of barges. You cannot pack them as densely as usual.
John Lindamood, a local farmer, noted that the exceptionally dry weather could mark the end of the harvest season for thousands of these blue-collar workers.
Some farmers in the region without grain storage will be forced to shut down their combine harvesters, which is devastating, according to Lindamood.
However, Lindamood, who crops cotton, corn, wheat, and beans at Lindamood Planting Company just a few miles outside Memphis, remains optimistic that the drought will resolve before the conclusion of the season, despite stating that losses have already been incurred.
Currently, we are experiencing a dry spell, but that will soon change. It will start raining, and those beans that are left in the field may or may not get harvested. They will not generate the same level of revenue.
Cook continued, ‘Every day we must pray for rain.’