Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Administrator Craig Stepan said the past month’s barge issues at the John C. Stennis Lock & Dam aren’t a cause for concern.
Two barges got stuck against the dam on Dec. 26 after high waters caused by heavy rains pushed them loose from their moorings at Raymond D. Lucas Memorial Port in Clay County. The barges, which belonged to Tom Soya Grain Company, remained against the dam for 19 days, until waters receded enough to allow a crew to remove them.
During Tuesday’s Columbus Rotary Club meeting, Stepan said it’s not uncommon for barges to break loose during high-water events.
“Breakaways out of fleets are fairly common, particularly when you get a burst of high water,” Stepan said, adding in this particular case the lock chamber had become full of small trees that had grown along the banks for several years since the last high-water event.
“When you have barges tied up and the river is running hard and along comes this raft of trees and logs that creates an impact on those barges on top of it, lines fail,” Stepan added.
Stepan said the dam is fine, all things considered. He said the runaway barges dented one of the gates, but other than that, damage was minimal.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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