By Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
The Missouri River isn't exactly drying up, but if you've taken a look at it recently, it seems bone dry compared to the flooding in 2011.
The combination of flood and now, drought is causing its problems for the Missouri River.
Missouri River Boat Club's Russell Hodges said, "If you look down [at the bank], it's totally different than what it was. The bank [here] has shifted and moved. It physically changed a lot of things."
At the Missouri River Boat Club, the historic 2011 flood affected not only its river landscape, but its financial records.
"We were almost bankrupt because of the flood because we are a non-profit organization. We operate on a very, very small budget," said Hodges.
But luckily, the Boat Club was flooded with not only water, but volunteers, which kept the business afloat.
But if river levels stay as low as they are now, and boating ramps remain unusable, the same can't be said for this summer.
"I would just love to see a normal year," said Hodges.
And so would Kelly Bach, Sioux City's Park Supervisor.
At the City's municipal boat dock, a massive pile of river sediment and dirt that sits at the bottom of the dock, is supposed to be underwater.
But because of low releases, it sits, several feet high.
So the City is altering its usual dredging procedures.
Sioux City's Park Supervisor Kelly Bach said, "We'll be digging lower than we usually had because of the abnormally low river levels this year. Last year there was probably 3 feet of water on top of that sediment [at the bottom of the dock]."
Yet another race to keep up with a river which has, again, shown its power.
And if you think the river looks dry now at 14,000 cubic feet per second, the Corps is considering dropping it down to 9,000 cfs next winter if the drought persists.
That decision will be made in July.
