The record-breaking drought of 2012 is drying up the Mississippi River, which is critical for commercial travel. If the shrinkage continues at the current rate, all river traffic could be shut down costing the U.S. $300 million a day in commerce.
The Mississippi River is the highway accounts for 60% percent of grain, 22% of oil and natural gas and 20% of coal transportation.
But its narrowing and shallow waters are forcing barges to stop running or to reduce the weight of the goods they carry which is now showing up at the grocery store – leading to shortages. Areas of the river have dropped 20 feet below normal – and the decline is expected to continue.
If the Mississippi River is closed to all water traffic, goods like grain, oil, natural gas and coal will need to be transported by truck or train – costing the US an additional $300 million a day.
The American Queen Steamboat, which needs eight and a half feet (2.6 meters) of water to float, can no longer navigate the river after getting stuck in a town near Memphis, Tennessee. Its 300 passengers were forced to abandon their river voyage and reach their destination by bus instead.
In some parts of the Mississippi River, the salt water is moving upriver, threatening drinking water extracted from other areas. All river traffic was shut down for 12 hours to give the US Army Corps of Engineers time to try to keep the salt water contained.
In other areas, millions of fish are dying as the bottom of the river transforms into an exposed desert. The river flows into lakes and streams across the US, carrying the devastation to all corners of the Midwest. About 40,000 shovel-nose sturgeon fish were killed in Iowa in one week as water temperatures reached 97 degrees. In Illinois, fish carcasses clogged an intake screen near a power plant, causing it to shut down one of its generators.
But in some areas, dead fish can be found shrivelled up on barren land that used to be underwater.
If the Mississippi River continues to dry out, food shortages will only be part of the concern, as the economy could be slapped by rising cargo transportation prices.
