Some recent rains in the basins that ultimately dump water into the Mississippi are a start, but the barge shipping problems that have created enormous backups on the river, particularly near Memphis, Tennessee, remain a long way from resolution.
“Current water levels are the lowest we have seen in recent years and in some locations have reached or surpassed historic low-water levels set as far back as 1988,” a Coast Guard spokesman said in an email to FreightWaves on Monday. “These conditions...