Attorney General's News Release

August 20, 2003

Low river will damage economy and environment, put power production at risk, Nixon says

Attorney General Nixon, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri's 8th District and U.S. Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri spoke at a news conference on the St. Louis riverfront. They stated their concerns about how low levels on the Missouri River were causing the Mississippi River to also be at record low levels, resulting in a negative economic impact to Missouri and its businesses.

St. Louis, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon joined state and business leaders under the Gateway Arch today to stress the importance of consistent, navigable water levels for the Missouri River. A federal judge last month ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to restrict the release of water from dams on the upper Missouri, and that has lowered the river level in Missouri. The Corps previously followed a water release schedule spelled out in the Master Manual for the river. The Corps now is considering an alternate plan that will replace the Master Manual, change the release schedule, and drastically lower the river in Missouri more frequently.

“Water for Missouri is like blood for our bodies. The flow of the Missouri River helps keep our economy alive,” Nixon said.

“We are near the confluence of two of our nation's greatest rivers because the Mississippi depends on the Missouri. The Missouri is contributing more than half the flow of the Mississippi River at St. Louis right now. At times it contributes as much as 60 percent,” the Attorney General said. “Missouri depends on the Missouri River for many uses. The river provides one of the most reliable drinking water supplies in the nation, helps generate reliable and affordable electricity at our nuclear and coal-fired power plants, and provides transportation that is environmentally and economically competitive.”

Attorney General Nixon shared the following:

• More than half the people who live in Missouri depend on reliable releases from the big dams in the Dakotas for drinking water.
• When the river is low, water companies must pay more to pump drinking water. Eight Missouri public water supply districts draw water from the Missouri River. These water districts estimate they spent an extra $7 million dollars because of last year's low water flow
• A low flow places significant power production capacity at risk during the summer. The alternative plan for the river places significant power production capacity at risk more frequently than under the current Master Manual. Based on the Corps' comparison of flows similar to the court-ordered low flow, such operations would cause a reduction of 200 to 900 gigawatt hours in power production. That would represent lost power generation worth approximately $14.6 to $65.9 million.
• Under the court-ordered low flows, Missouri River flows would be lower than ever with increasing frequency. The Army Corps of Engineers estimates the current court order will create flows equal to or less than record low flows approximately 30 percent of the time. This is much more frequent than under the current Master Manual, when record low flows occur only about 10 percent of the time. We expect record low flows and record high water temperatures this weekend.
• The environmental impact of losing transportation on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers is astounding. A single 15 barge tow carries the equivalent of 870 trucks on I-70. The increased congestion and air pollution stemming from the loss of river transportation would be immense.
• The new plan under consideration by the Corps' Northwest Division will make low flows and economic impacts on the Mississippi River far more frequent and far more severe than the current Master Manual. The new plan will lower flows on the Missouri River forty percent of the time in the fall. Seventy-five percent of these lower Missouri River flows will cause Mississippi River restrictions.
• The St. Louis gage on the Mississippi River is at -1.1 feet. This causes restrictions on tow size, the number of barges that a tow pushes. Normally, tow size is 15 barges. The cost of the present restrictions on the industry is about $500,000 a day. If the gage falls to -4.5 feet, the river is not navigable. We expect the gage to fall to about -2.3 by Saturday.
• There is only one active interior least tern nest below Gavins Point right now. Those chicks will not survive because they are not ready to migrate with their parents and they will be taken by predators, probably migrating hawks. Despite the fact that the court-ordered low flows were not implemented until the final three days of the nesting season and the Corps operated under the current Master Manual, the interior least terns and piping plovers continued to thrive this summer.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

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