KIMMSWICK — These days, the only riverboats visitors can observe on the Mississippi River at Kimmswick are cruising right past this historic town.
“The boats go by, even though they can’t land,” Mayor Phil Stang said.
It’s a disappointing reality for Stang after efforts to lure excursion river cruise boats culminated in the first cruise vessel, the American Duchess, docking at the newly constructed Kimmswick port in July 2021.
But persistently low water levels more recently have placed the dock out of reach for excursion boats looking to safely land here — a stark contrast to years of floods that have tested Kimmswick’s levees.
“We’re just praying that we get some water,” Stang said. “My prayers are enough water to float boats but not enough water that I have to build the levee up again.”
People are also reading…
A pad where boats can tie off, left, is seen along the Mississippi River at the Kimmswick Port on Dec. 28, 2023. The port was finished in 2021, but the cruise ships the town had hoped to welcome are unable to dock because of consistently low water levels since 2022.
Low water levels this year on the Mississippi have caused problems elsewhere: from ships running aground at Vicksburg, Mississippi, to saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico moving up the river and harming drinking water supplies in southern Louisiana.
Janet Meredith, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis, said the Corps maintains a 9-foot channel on the river, allowing goods to be transported.
“We’ve been able to maintain our shipping channel all year long,” she said. “We had no stoppages or restrictions in our area of operations,” which stretches from Saverton, Missouri, south to Cairo, Illinois.
Stang said a lack of boats at Kimmswick hasn’t hurt the city as much as one might expect, as visitors have continued spending money in the town’s network of shops and restaurants.
“We get some income from the people who are on the boats,” Stang said. “But the majority of the impact on the city of Kimmswick comes from the people who now know that Kimmswick is a historic river city.
The Delta Queen riverboat sits in Houma, Louisiana, where it awaits repairs. The boat was damaged in Hurricane Ida in 2021.
“In the past, you basically couldn’t get to the river in the first place because it was a bunch of brush and stuff down there,” he said.
In 2022, 13 one-day riverboat stops were scheduled for Kimmswick, but most of the landings didn’t take place due to low water, the Jefferson County Leader reported.
Meanwhile, one company’s absence from the Kimmswick riverfront isn’t due to current low water levels.
The Delta Queen Steamboat Company announced in 2015 that Kimmswick would be its port of call and headquarters. Before the historic vessel could embark on overnight excursions, it needed an exemption to federal law, which came in 2018.
But since then, the company has faced numerous setbacks, manager Phillip Johnson said.
He said the company spent 2019 trying to put together financing for the project, but that efforts were derailed in early 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down of the cruise industry.
In 2021, the historic Delta Queen sustained damage from Hurricane Ida, Johnson said.
“Only recently did the insurance monies come through and repairs to the vessel get underway,” he said in an email. “The damage was primarily to the roof and outer decks, such as railings and a few windows. The interior of the vessel remains in good condition and thanks to the new roof has remained dry and preserved.
“We are currently in talks with a couple groups to secure a future for the Delta Queen as an overnight cruise vessel,” Johnson said. “Should we be successful we most certainly plan to stop in Kimmswick.”
Rocks, sand, and plants spread between the Kimmswick Port and the Mississippi River in Kimmswick on Dec. 28, 2023. The port was finished in 2021, but consistently low water levels since 2022 make the cruise ships the town hoped to welcome unable to dock. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
The Kimmswick Port is seen in the distance from the observation deck at the Anheuser House in Kimmswick on Dec. 28, 2023. The port was finished in 2021, but consistently low water levels since 2022 make the cruise ships the town hoped to welcome unable to dock. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
The Kimmswick Port is seen on the left of the Mississippi River in Kimmswick on Dec. 28, 2023. The port was finished in 2021, but consistently low water levels since 2022 make the cruise ships the town hoped to welcome unable to dock. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
The receding Mississippi River coastline is seen along Illinois near Kimmswick, Mo. on Dec. 28, 2023. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
A green buoy rests sideways near the shore at the Kimmswick Port in Kimmswick on Dec. 28, 2023. The port was finished in 2021, but consistently low water levels since 2022 make the cruise ships the town hoped to welcome unable to dock. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
"low" - Google News
December 30, 2023 at 05:17AM
https://ift.tt/Bo7OsjV
Riverboats pull away from Kimmswick as low water puts new dock out of reach - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"low" - Google News
https://ift.tt/Pi0k29h
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Riverboats pull away from Kimmswick as low water puts new dock out of reach - St. Louis Post-Dispatch"
Post a Comment