Problems along the Mississippi river, a firsthand photo account.

Thank you so much for the pictures and the information. I think there are going to just be more problems in the future, with them trying to fix it now.

Also, since I too love to fossil hunt, I have to ask you, did you ask any of the truck drivers where they were hauling the rocks? I would love to dig through that pile!!!

Originally posted by Komaratzi11
Awesome pics! I have family that lives not too far from Kaskaskia Island, but I haven't been over that way since Thanksgiving. The river was looking mighty lean whenever I crossed over at Chester then. I'll ask my brother what it looks like when he comes over for Christmas.

That river always amazes me. I'll never forget the Flood of '93. It looked like an ocean looking out from Chester back then. Then you see it now and it's hard to believe it ever happened.

Hey: Greetings from Greenville, IL. My family has a reunion every year at Fort Kaskaski State Park just North of Chester. I remember looking out over the river on July 4, 1993, thinking wow, could this get worse. My son was born on August 2, 1993, with the crest of the flood. Wow did it get worse. Who would have thought we would be so dry now. Little talked about is the that the water supplies dependent on the river may soon be shut off. That would cause pure panic.

OP, is there any possibility this low water level could be the result of siphoning water to be used in injections wells/fracking? Each drill site uses between 3-5 Million ( yes,with an M) gallons of fresh water, per frack. And wells are sometimes fracked over and over.
source: exploreshale.org...
I have no idea if this is going on in your area, or the area you speak of, but they may be taking it out of state for use elsewhere.
Have you noticed an unusually high presence of tanker trucks in the area? Just something to investigate.

I live on Lake Michigan and our river is really low too . They were dregging today when I came through. Bad all over we need lots of snow and none is in the forecast

AH yes, the folly of man to think we can control nature .... nice thread and great pictures...... I grew up on the Susquehanna River and it is a mile wide some places but it is not deep enough for barge traffic.......

reply to post by Raist


I heard about this on the radio last night on the way home from work. Thanks for the visuals. From what I gathered on the radio it was due to the drought. Although if sea levels are rising why is it low?? I am sure someone could come in here to explain how sea level rises and this river goes dry.

anyways... maybe this is a taste of things to come for agriculture.

great post

i am getting tired of the gun posts

That sure puts things into perspective. Thank you for taking the time to take pictures and post.

Excellent post and pics, this is very unsettling. It seems like all that rock removal would have a negative effect on riverbed and coastal stability as well. I will be watching this thread.
Thanks, s&f

I am going to ask a question that some of you may find dumb, but I am asking because I really would like to know. Would the removal of A LOT of rocks not cause the water lever to drop as well? I wonder why they would take the rocks out and not just relocate them. I know they would have to remove a lot of rocks to change the level but could it be possible to remove enough to make the water level lower than it already is? It really is a pretty area. I would love to see a bigger part of the river than I have seen, I live in a river town as well. One of our rivers leads into the Mississippi river. You have made me wonder about our river. I live on the Ohio and once upon a time you could walk across it to Wv and I think I remember several years ago there was talk about rise in our levels. Hmm, thanks for giving me something to research and think about.

reply to post by Raist


Wow!....just wow..
Its hard to believe this can happen to the mighty Mississippi. I live in the southwest and we have been experiencing drought but that is almost normal here. I didn't realize it was so bad in so many places.

Thanks for sharing op.

WOW- Fantastic thread and Pictures.

This is extremely scary stuff OP. I live along the Raisin River (yes, I know it isnt the Mighty Mississippi...) and have watched a similar thing. Years ago there were several good swimming spots, this year (and last) those same spots are not even a part of the river.

Every time my wife and I walk along the Raisin (which is quite often) we have commented on how it is getting lower and lower and at this point is looking more like a creek than a river. There are places where the water is at best, knee high at the deepest point.

Your thread really scares me- I grasp the enormity of what will happen should the mighty Mississippi stop flowing. I have worked in Industry along the Detroit River and know the massive amounts of Steel Hauling Barges and such that use the waterway- This could (essentially) cause havoc.

Please keep us posted- I had heard many rumors but this is the first pictures I have seen and - Its damn scary.

Good job with the thread OP

reply to post by Nyiah


It is funny (not really it is the only phrase I can think of that fits what I am about to say) you say that. All of the small creeks around the area that flow into the river that were over flowing last year as the river backed up into them are dry.

I say dry in that no water is flowing into the river from them. They may have a very small spot or so with some water in them or just at the mouth where they meet the river but other than that they have over grown with weeds.

For that matter much of the banks of the river have overgrown with weeds.

I was talking with some people yesterday and they were saying they heard it would possibly stay low until next March or May. I really hope they are wrong.

Raist

Wow, we've been hearing bits & pieces of news about this,
but your pictures really put it into perspective!
We flew over in Sept & could tell even from the air
how much volume it had lost back then already!

Just caught a little part of something on TV last night
as I was walking onto the room.
They said they were going to blow up some granite
rock formations to make the channel deeper.

The first thing that came to mind was....
How much of the New Madrid fault line underlies the river?
And how close to where they are planning this?
Could it set off an earthquake?

I'm with Cherryontop! I have wondered about the millions
of gallons of water they use for fracking being lost forever!
When they are done using it, what they can reclaim is contaminated.
So they inject it deep underground into disposal wells, to get rid of it...forever???
So all of it is taken from the water cycle, never able to return.
No wonder why it's been said that one day water would be
the new commodity, & traded like gold!
T. Boone Pickens has been buying up land in Texas over the largest aquifer in the U.S!
Follow the money!

Every place upriver affects the Mississippi.
The northeast hardly had any snowfall last year.
None so far this year.
Millions of gallons of water taken for fracking in how many states?!

Something else crossed my mind.
Have any small, new fault lines started to open up under the river?
Some water could be leaching down through them too!!!
WOQ

reply to post by PacificBlue


I am sure a great many people and critters would be more than happy to see your rain

I just read that the water levels are now (I doubt it is just now though, the news seems determinded to not talk about this much at all) affecting birds and fish.

www.semissourian.com...

"When you have low river stages, juvenile fish don't have as many places to hide. If they were out in the main current, they would be swept away," Gillespie said. Low water for extended periods can affect organisms that thrive in a shallow-water habitat, but it can be beneficial for some, including the interior least turn, one of the region's rarest birds.

These birds nest on sandbar islands, so when the water is low, they have more nesting areas. When the water is high, these birds may be forced to nest inland, where they are more susceptible to predators.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has incorporated environmental monitoring into its efforts to remove rock outcroppings near Thebes, Ill.

Work began Monday as crews used excavation equipment to break up and scoop out rocks restricting river traffic. The project called for crews to use explosives to blast loose the rocks, but this tactic has been delayed for now.

I will say that I have seen several different fish dead along the banks at times but these were dead because of fisherman thinking they were pest fish. I have seen small gar with their bills broken off and even a few small sturgeon just tossed up on the bank.

The Great Blue Herons are still sticking close to the waters edge though. I seen a large number of foot prints and droppings (big birds make big messes) as evidence of this.

Raist

reply to post by Dimithae


Yeah the drought is pretty bad. The limiting the water flow into the river is not helping either.

I still think a part of it has to do with all the stuff they did to stop flooding last year though.

In the years past if the river got high it would come back down on its own and the next year things would be fine. Out of the last three years only three years ago has the river been normal.

Right now if we even had half of the flood water we had last year the river would be at near normal stages.

Raist

reply to post by chiefsmom


Honestly I wanted to know this myself. However, I failed to ask them where the rock was being taken. Everyone seemed pretty busy and I did not want to get in their way. Where they were loading the trucks there were about 3-4 boats (the small white ones) running all over the place. It was like a mad house. I am not sure but I think some of the boats were doing sonar to check every inch of depth.

Other boats were helping to direct traffic. And it was just as busy around where they were loading rocks. People all over the place. The Thebes camp ground was overflowing with cars and trucks. I have never seen that place as active as it was.

I will try to find out about the rocks though pretty soon and let you know.

If you get a chance since you like fossils stop by my fossil thread and show off what you have.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


Thank you for all all your work and pictures. I have been trying to keep up with this. It is much worse than many people are aware of. I hope that with all the snow that is suppose to be coming in there will be some relief. However it will take much more than several inches of snow. It takes 88 semi's to equal 1 barge of goods. The country is much more dependent on the goods that are transported up and down the Mississippi River than most realize.

reply to post by Longshots


The smaller supplies of creeks have been shut down by nature. I know they are not much but at this point every little bit would help. All of the places I have been lately has no water flowing into the river.

I am not sure about the creeks up north or down south but those in the area where I took the photos are all dry.

Some of the other rivers, and one that is where the Mississippi river used to flow in the Pleistocene are quite low as well. In one fishing spot in it there is an exposed sand bar that never was visable any other time I have been there. Which of course they changed this area quite a bit from what it was when I was a kid so water might not stand in the spot as long either.

Raist

reply to post by Cherryontop


Fracking this area is not happening; we have a great deal of quarries around though. I am within driving distance of more than a hand full of quarries. That is not to say however, that they might not be using it someplace up stream.

As for a large number of tanker trucks we already had those. The area I am at is pretty high on the list of places a terror event might happen. We are placed right on the river, rail ways, interstate, small airport, and we have bridges for both car and train going into the next state. There is already a great deal of truck traffic that flows through here carrying everything from stuff for grocery to government trucks that only come through at the hours of less traffic. This area is why we have factories that have if not been hiring throughout the entire economic crisis have at least not been laying people off. There were a few weeks and months when some hours got cut back on people but their hours returned.


The area of the river that is chocking right now is located at a really active hub of traffic feeding the country.

Raist