Flooding Hampers Commerce on Arkansas River System

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Drenching rains and flooding over the past two months have greatly reduced barge traffic along the 455-mile McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and dented the finances of companies that depend on the waterway.

The navigation system stretches from Catoosa, Okla., to the Mississippi River and serves as a major economic engine for the region. Activity has slowed because barge traffic along the route is limited due to rains have filled locks and reservoirs and made the river system risky to navigate.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that 737,420 tons of cargo moved on the river in May and June — nearly a 60 percent drop from the same two-month period last year, when 1.7 million tons of cargo moved, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Laurie Driver, a spokeswoman for the Corps, said river flows at various points ranged from 147,000 to 180,000 cubic feet per second. She said normal flow on the river this time of year is typically 20,000.

“A lot of the barges on the Arkansas are not the higher horsepower towboats as they are on the Mississippi,” Driver said. “If you’re trying to go upstream in those type of flows, it’s dangerous and it eats up diesel. So they will park and wait.”

The McClellan-Kerr navigation system opened in 1969 and consists of 18 locks and dams that help control the river. The system also provides flood protection, hydropower, navigation, water supply, wildlife conservation and recreation.

While the system has been successful in controlling the recent flooding, commerce has been severely affected.

“This is probably the longest we’ve had an interruption in business,” said businessman Marty Shell, the president of Five Rivers Distribution who operates ports in Fort Smith and Van Buren.

Some estimates say it will take at least another month before normal conditions return to the waterway.

“Everybody’s patience is wearing thin, including mine,” Shell said. “We’re ready for business to get back to normal.”