Corps of Engineers Moves Ahead with Missouri River Cutoff

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The Army Corps of Engineers has begun reducing the flow from a Missouri River reservoir, a move expected to worsen low water conditions on the Mississippi River and potentially halt barge traffic at St. Louis within weeks.

Monique Farmer of the corps office in Omaha, Neb., confirmed that reduction of outflow from the Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota began Friday. She says the reduction is necessary because of drought on the upper Missouri River.

The governors of Missouri and Illinois and 15 senators have urged the corps to reconsider the flow reduction or risk economic catastrophe for firms that rely on the Mississippi for shipping.