Drought, barge traffic and reappearing towns

Remember when I posted THIS?

That post is how the drought has lowered the Mississippi River to all time lows endangering what little recovery our country has achieved so far.

Now there is more news which you should think about.

"MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Nearly 100 boats and barges were waiting for passage Monday along an 11-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that has been closed due to low water levels, the U.S. Coast Guard said.New Orleans-based Coast Guard spokesman Ryan Tippets said the stretch of river near Greenville, Miss., has been closed intermittently since Aug. 11, when a vessel ran aground.Tippets said the area is currently being surveyed for dredging and a Coast Guard boat is replacing eight navigation markers. He says 40 northbound vessels and 57 southbound vessels were stranded and waiting for passage Monday afternoon."

If the tugs and the barges cannot get through, the goods they are carrying could spoil destroying them, or they will be delayed. Delays cost money. Delays mean product not on shelves, which means prices can go up, which means your dollar buys less.  What kind of goods are shipped by barge?  You would be surprised.  Corn, Wheat, Soybeans, Sorghum, Sugar, Peanuts, Coal, Iron pellets and hundreds of other products are shipped by barge.  And if the barges cannot get through, commerce is severely affected.

Also, lake and river levels are getting extremely low.  Uncovering towns that were intentionally abandoned when rivers and streams were dammed.  Such as:

"The severe drought scorching much of the nation's Midwest has lowered water levels so drastically that towns that were intentionally submerged decades ago are starting to surface.

The historic drought has dried the Salamonie River in northeast Indiana so much that its receding banks are now revealing the remnants, bricks and foundations of Monument City, Ind., NBC News reports. The small town of 100 was one of three whose residents were relocated before the Salamonie River was dammed and the municipality submerged in order to build a reservoir in 1965."

My own area is affected by the drought.  Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Resovoir are below 50% capacity.

KiiiTV3.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend

"CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) -The City's watershed area got very little rain this weekend, and when you couple that with record-low rainfall this season, lake levels are now at an all-time low for the year.

Word from City Hall is that mandatory water restrictions could be imposed as early as next week. Kiii News Reporter Jessica James went Live at Lake Corpus Christi to show just how low the water is there."

And from the Caller Times:

"CORPUS CHRISTI — Watering restrictions could be in place in about a month if there is no rain to replenish Corpus Christi's declining drinking water supply.Combined lake levels have dropped steadily during the past several months to a combined capacity of 43.7 percent, as of Monday morning, according to the Nueces River Authority. By mid-September, city water officials predict those levels could dip below 40 percent, triggering mandatory conservation rules."

This can and will cause a major effect on not just your pocketbook, but everyone's pocketbook.  From you and your neighbors to the local grocery stores, and the farmers who grow the crops.

You might want to pray for rain like I am.