Water levels on the Ohio River are rising, leading to faster currents and more, and worse, shipping accidents — at a time when more hazardous chemicals are being moved down the river. (WFPLNews)
The Ohio River, during high water level, upstream of downtown Louisville on Feb. 15, 2018.
Liam LaRue, chief of investigations for the Office of Marine Safety at the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB], said the agency has noticed more and more accidents tied to high rivers. And these accidents are not uncommon in the Ohio watershed, in part because the Ohio River is so difficult to navigate.Louisville’s section of the Ohio River is one of only 12 places in the country with a— essentially an escort system to help vessels navigate dangerous or congested stretches of river. It is the only inland traffic service and the only one that operates solely during times of high water.
This trend follows the decline of coal and the increase in natural gas production in this region. Less coal is being mined as more companies go bankrupt and coal becomes harder to extract. Power plants are retiring coal generators in favor of natural gas units, which are not only cheaper but cleaner.But the non-solid materials taking their place are more hazardous to ship.
In this case, rain diluted the contamination, and helped it move swiftly through the city. But less than a month later, the rain would cause the barge breakaways near Pittsburgh and in West Virginia.A towing vessel and barges moving through the area monitored by the Louisville Vessel Traffic Service on Dec. 22, 2017.
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