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September 1, 2026 River Operating Conditions Tow Size Restrictions There are currently NO tow-size restrictions in effect. River Conditions: Upper Mississippi: Pool conditions. Illinois: Water levels continue to fall at Havana and Beardstown. Levels above appear to be hold steady into mid-Sept. St Louis: Water levels continue to decline in St. Louis. Current trends indicate hitting 0' on the gauge around Sept 7. Ohio: Overall river levels continue to indicate falling trends going into September. Lower Mississippi: We are seeing trends of falling river levels projected at least through mid September. Below are the 2026 load cut-off dates for barges destined for an Upper Mississippi River destination and unload cut-off dates for barges waiting to discharge on the Upper Mississippi River: Loadings to Upper Miss Origin MM 280 – 635 MM 636 – 838 GIWW/GIWE 9-Oct 28-Sep Upper Ohio 12-Oct 5-Oct New Orleans 12-Oct 5-Oct Tennessee 16-Oct 5-Oct Lower Ohio 23-Oct 12-Oct Chicago 23-Oct 12-Oct St Louis 30-Oct 26-Oct Mid Miss 26-Oct Unload Cut-off dates: Location Date Clinton – St Paul 6-Nov Rock Island 13-Nov Keokuk – South 13-Nov Lock Outages: Arkansas River: -There will be multiple closures on the Arkansas River throughout 2026. Please reach out to MississippiDispatch@IngramBarge.com for additional information. Cumberland River: -Barkley Lock closed on August 10 to make repairs to the miter gates. Traffic may pass by taking the alt. route via KY Lock and Barkley Canal. Barkley Lock is expected to re-open on Sept 30, 2026. Illinois River: -Brandon Road has a planned closure starting 9/21/26 through 4/28/28, M-F from 0600-1800, for rock excavation in channel and wall construction at the entrance of lock. There could be times when work is not being conducted and the lock will be operational. Gulf Activity: Tropical Storm Edouard is approximately 90 miles southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, moving to the west-northwest at 12 mph. Max sustained winds are 45 mph. This storm is expected to continue moving to the west-northwest through this morning before making landfall to the west of the Port Arthur area this afternoon as a moderate tropical storm. Once inland, it will become a tropical remnant low to the north of Houston late today into Wednesday. The primary threat from this system will be heavy rainfall from southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Calcasieu lock is having daytime closures Mon – Fri from 0700 -1900 until Sept. 18.

While we strive to ensure accuracy of this information, at times the situation can be dynamic and changing quickly. Therefore, we recommend that you consult with the appropriate Ingram contact for critical shipments that may be affected by these notices before making decisions.

Last updated: 2026-09-03 03:35:06