Missouri River Navigation Season Opens On Schedule

In mid-March, the Northwestern Engineer Division began increasing releases at Gavins Point Dam, mile 811.1 on the Missouri River. The releases had been at 12,000 cubic feet per second over most of the winter, and the mid-March increase was to facilitate navigation at the mouth of the river by April 1. On April 1, the release at Gavins Point stood at 26,000 cfs, and some line-haul traffic was already on the move.

The 2,400 hp. towboats Ava Hadley and Gerald F. Engemann of Missouri River Towing departed their home port of Hermann, Mo., on Missouri River Mile 97 on March 30, headed upbound with an empty tow for Kansas City, Mo. The 3,000 hp. Mr. Lampton of Magnolia Marine entered the mouth of the Missouri with two loads on March 31, also en route to the Kansas City area. On April 1, the “official” opening day of the navigation season, two other boats entered the mouth of the river. The 3,000 hp. Deborah Miles of Magnolia Marine was upbound with two loads for Kansas City, while the 4,000 hp. Melba L. Engemann of Missouri River Towing entered with a tow of six loads.

Mountain snowpack in the upper Missouri River basin accumulated at below average rates over the winter. The runoff into the upper Missouri above Sioux City, Iowa, is predicted to be 86 percent of average, so releases for navigation support will be at least 4,500 cfs below full service for the first half of the eight-month navigation season.

The situation will be reviewed in July to determine the level of support for the second half of the season.