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Low Waters Mean Slow Going on Rivers

Posted on: Thursday, 18 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

Aug. 17--PADUCAH, Ky. -- It was slow going for the Mississippi Queen riverboat on Tuesday as it traveled up the Ohio River from Cairo, Ill., to Paducah.

"In some places, we had only two feet of water under us," said Capt. Gabe Chengery. "We draw nine feet, so we had to take it pretty slow. We didn't have any problems."

Because of low water, the Coast Guard continued to declare a safety zone Tuesday in a seven-mile stretch from Cairo to near Mound City, Ill. The Ohio is closed to all but traffic that is cleared by the Coast Guard commander.

"We are working with the river industry to allow commercial vessels to move through the safety zone," said Lt. j.g. Anthony Baird. "The industry officials are establishing a prioritized list of vessels based on the draft, the number of barges and their cargo."

By late Tuesday, the number of waiting southbound tows was reduced from 42 to about 10, while the number of northbound tows remained at 19, Baird said. "Based on Coast Guard and industry meetings, it was felt it would be more advantageous to clear the southbound first," Baird said. "Their transit time is less because they are going downstream."

River industry officials say the delays can cost them more than $6,000 a day for each vessel that is idle. Some towing companies are having to lighten their loads and reduce the number of barges being pushed, all of which cut into profits.

The only northbound vessel allowed through the Ohio River safety zone Tuesday was the excursion paddlewheeler Mississippi Queen. "It was allowed to move because the passengers were on a tight schedule," Baird said.

Chengery said the cruise for 342 passengers began in Memphis, Tenn., and is scheduled to end Friday in Nashville, Tenn. The Queen was delayed in Cairo for several hours while awaiting permission to move up the Ohio.

Chengery was told Monday that he'd have to tie up at Cairo for an undetermined time because of the low conditions. Tourism officials in Paducah had planned to send buses to Cairo to pick up the passengers and bring them to Paducah to tour the city and visit shops. However, the Queen was cleared for the trip north at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Chengery said.

"We got into Paducah at 1:30. The trip took eight hours -- about an hour longer than normal."

The Mississippi Queen will pull out of Paducah at 1 p.m. today for the final leg of the trip up the Ohio to the Cumberland River and Lake Barkley. He doesn't anticipate any problems navigating the Cumberland to Nashville.

"They've got the gates in the dam closed, so they are holding back plenty of water," he said. "We are scheduled to stop in Dover (Tenn.) on Thursday and be in Nashville on Friday."

The rivers are at the lowest seen since 1988 for Chengery, a captain on the Mississippi Queen and Delta Queen for 28 years. "The Mississippi River is only four feet above what it was then," he said.

Chengery said he saw the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging the lower Ohio to deepen the channel.

Dredging began Sunday and is expected to take eight days to complete, according to the Coast Guard. The most time-consuming work is on a 2,000-foot section starting at mile market 974 near Cairo. That portion of the work is expected to take four days, Baird said.

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Source: The Paducah Sun

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