# Water level low, but river traffic clear to continue

> The Army Corps of Engineers says Mississippi River levels near Cape Girardeau are approaching historic lows and are projected to fall below 9 feet, the minimum needed for barge navigation. The agency expects to keep traffic moving through dredging and lock and dam operations.

- Date: 2023-06-21 · published 2023-06-21T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16621-water-level-low-but-river-traffic-clear-to-continue
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Falling river depth threatens barge loads and freight costs even if traffic continues, which can widen Gulf basis discounts for corn and soybeans.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- CORN: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2026-10-22 | [Water Levels on Lower Mississippi River Starting to Run Low Again](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16332-water-levels-on-lower-mississippi-river-starting-to-run-low-again.md) | -1.2% | — |
| CORN | 2023-11-12 | [Historically low water levels on the Mississippi River cause shipping woes \| PBS News Weekend](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16587-historically-low-water-levels-on-the-mississippi-river-cause-shipping-woes-pbs.md) | -0.5% | -1.7% |
| CORN | 2026-04-23 | [Mississippi River Levels Chester Il — Geosirius](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16370-mississippi-river-levels-chester-il-geosirius.md) | +1.7% | +2.9% |
| CORN | 2025-10-16 | [Drought lowering Mississippi River levels again, disrupting shipping](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16420-drought-lowering-mississippi-river-levels-again-disrupting-shipping.md) | -0.0% | +2.8% |
| CORN | 2026-07-29 | [Soybeans Sink on Weather, Pulling Down Corn and Wheat: Cattle Continue to Recover - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18361-soybeans-sink-on-weather-pulling-down-corn-and-wheat-cattle-continue-to-recover.md) | -3.5% | +5.0% |
| SOY | 2026-10-22 | [Water Levels on Lower Mississippi River Starting to Run Low Again](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16332-water-levels-on-lower-mississippi-river-starting-to-run-low-again.md) | -2.3% | — |
| SOY | 2023-11-12 | [Historically low water levels on the Mississippi River cause shipping woes \| PBS News Weekend](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16587-historically-low-water-levels-on-the-mississippi-river-cause-shipping-woes-pbs.md) | +0.5% | +0.2% |
| SOY | 2025-07-08 | [Low Mississippi River levels cost soybean farmers up to $293 million - Talk Business & Politics](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16438-low-mississippi-river-levels-cost-soybean-farmers-up-to-293-million-talk.md) | -3.4% | -6.1% |

## Sources

- semissourian.com: https://www.semissourian.com/news/water-level-low-but-river-traffic-clear-to-continue-3000130

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.