Tagged: Mississippi River

A top Army Corps of Engineers official says she believes the low Mississippi River will remain open to shipping, partly justifying the agency's decision to not release more water from the Missouri River into the Mississippi.

Army Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy, in a Thursday letter obtained by The Associated Press, tells lawmakers from Mississippi River states that the agency won't be scaling back the amount of Missouri River water it began withholding last month from the Mississippi.

Lawmakers in states up upstream on the Missouri River are bracing for a fight if any action is taken to reopen dams on the Missouri River.

Northern states say their need for water is just as important as moving barges on the Mississippi River.

So far the President is staying out of the water war between states in the Mississippi River watershed, which includes the Missouri River.

Politicians across the Midwest are continuing to press the President to declare a state of emergency on the Mississippi River to allow barge traffic to keep flowing.

Every year roughly $180 billion worth of freight makes its way up and down the river.

Now, a record shortage of water on the nation’s major inland waterways is expected to put upward pressure on everything from food items to electricity.

The drought effect