Plan to cut flow to Mississippi River draws ire

RANDOLPH COUNTY, Ill. – People along the Mississippi River continue to feel the drought. The river level remains below normal.

And now those people are fighting a plan to drop the level even further.

Each December the Army Corps of Engineers cuts back on the amount of water flowing from the Missouri River into the Mississippi River to prevent flooding.

Now the Corps wants to cut back more to lower the drought impact on the Missouri River.

This concerns those who depend upon the Mississippi.

“The river’s our life blood. It’s how we make our operation go,” said Knight Hawk Coal Vice President Andrew Carter. “Eighty percent of our volume moves through the dock.  I have all my coal sold for this year. I have all my coal sold for next year.”

Businesses along the river are concerned a drop in the river level would make it impossible to move cargo and force lay-offs.