Current status of our Inland Waterways

E

El and Bill

New member
From the Amer. Soc. of Civil Engineers:

"Forty-one states, including all states east of the Mississippi River and 16 state capitals, are served by commercially navigable waterways. The U.S. inland waterway system consists of 12,000 miles of navigable waterways in four systems—the Mississippi River, the Ohio River Basin, the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, and the Pacific Coast systems—that connect with most states in the U.S. The system comprises 257 locks, which raise and lower river traffic between stretches of water of different levels.

Three-quarters of the nation's inland waterways, or approximately 9,000 miles, are within the Mississippi River system. The next largest segment is the Ohio River system with 2,800 miles. The Gulf Coast Intercoastal Waterway system comprises 1,109 miles and the Columbia River system, the shortest of the four major systems, is only 596 miles long.

The nationwide network includes nearly 11,000 miles of federal user fees through an excise tax on fuel. Commercial waterway operators on these designated waterways pay a fuel tax of 20 cents per gallon, which is deposited in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF). The IWTF, which was created in 1978, funds half the cost of new construction and major rehabilitation of the inland waterway infrastructure.

Forty-seven percent of all locks maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were classified as functionally obsolete in 2006. Assuming that no new locks are built within the next 20 years, by 2020, another 93 existing locks will be obsolete—rendering more than 8 out of every 10 locks now in service outdated.

Currently, the Corps has $180 million per year available for lock repairs—half comes from the IWTF revenues and half comes from congressional appropriations. With an average rehabilitation cost of $50 million per lock, the current level allows the Corps to fully fund only two or three lock projects each year." -- http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org ... -waterways

These waterways have been favorite cruising grounds for C-Brats -- and this information from ASCE should be if interest to us. Any thoughts?
 
Hi El and Bill, we have the same problem in Canada as well. Due to a cut in funding from the federal gov. to Parks Canada the 2013 season for our 2 main canal systems (Trent & Rideau) has been cut short as well as their hours of operation. I have wrote letters to newspapers, signed protests, etc. Its not just being selfish so us boaters can have more fun - there are thousands of people in small communities along these routes who rely on this season to make their living. For some the money they make during this season is their entire income for the year. It will also hurt many "delivery captains" who take boats from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay for the owners. Shorter lock hours will mean fewer deliveries. These canal systems are a national treasure - what sane person throws away a treasure or leaves it to rot in disrepair???

As for being obsolete I don't know exactly what degree of rebuilding/repair that implies is neccesary but several of our locks have been designated as "heritage locks" and are still being operated by hand as they were when they were built over a hundred years ago. No hydraulics or electric motors - the attendants crank them by hand.

I may never get to enjoy them but I wish you luck in the preservation of your treasures.

Regards, Rob
 
As a nation, we have made a conscious decision to let our entire infrastructure go into disrepair. And it is not just locks. The intercostal waterway in New Jersey has not been dredged in spots and is too shallow for some power boats and sailboats. Our highways and bridges are in shambles. Our electric grid is headed to be like India; even Great Britain is better prepared to handle an EMP event. In Connecticut, they are using highly corrosive magnesium chloride on the roads, which is causing further damage to the infrastructure, cars and equipment. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. What a mess for the next generation to address!
 
We did the intercoastal waterway less than a week before hurricane Sandy hit. The northern sectionin New Jersey is closed to traffic now. Sunken boats houses cars are blocking parts of it. Also most of the sand that was on the ocean beaches got washed into the bay and the intercoastal waterway. I think it will be a long time getting that cleaned out and passable again. I can't help but think the money we give to countries in terms of foreign aid to countries like Egypt and Pakistan just to name a few that money could be used to at least start to work on our infrastructure. Not pointing any fingers at any one party just at politicians in general.
D.D.
 
Will-C":32twum2q said:
We did the intercoastal waterway less than a week before hurricane Sandy hit. The northern sectionin New Jersey is closed to traffic now. Sunken boats houses cars are blocking parts of it. Also most of the sand that was on the ocean beaches got washed into the bay and the intercoastal waterway. I think it will be a long time getting that cleaned out and passable again. I can't help but think the money we give to countries in terms of foreign aid to countries like Egypt and Pakistan just to name a few that money could be used to at least start to work on our infrastructure. Not pointing any fingers at any one party just at politicians in general.
D.D.
Click to expand...

YES! Let's cut foreign aid out completely and use the money to rebuild OUR infrastructure.

End of rant.
 
Rob -
Thanks for your post about problems with the Canadian canals. For cruising boaters, your waterways and ours are indeed national treasures -- as well as essential commercial avenues for the economy.

The hand-cranked locks in Canada (many of which we have traversed) are indeed historical treasures. Wonderful to travel through those locks, just as earlier generations did, with hand-cranked locks and massive wooden 'doors.'

Some of my ancestors 'went west' along the Erie Canal (as well as some of the Canadian canals). It was a wonderful experience to lock-through with our grandkids and tell tales 'from the olden times.' History becomes a real experience.

Most of those old hand-cranked locks are 'preserved' for historical value, and funded for their maintenance. The Amer. Soc. of Civil Engineers report about US locks and canals describes locks in the US that are obsolete -- not in the historic sense -- but in the practical sense, that the funding for maintaining their mechanical parts has not been forthcoming -- and that they may breakdown and no longer function for commercial or recreational traffic.

Dredging after silting from Hurricane Sandy, as noted, also requires funding, and this has been difficult to acquire.

There are many 'demands' for public funding -- locally and nationally. Of course, priorities must be set by our elected politicians, for the spending of public money. As cruising recreational boaters, should we be asking our representatives to put a higher priority on maintaining our waterways? Does this necessarily require eliminating spending somewhere else, that might be a priority for other non-boating citizens? Should we all be paying a higher percentage tax to cover these public expenses? Should we perhaps be paying a 'user fee' (as we do for locking in the Erie Canal, and others) to help defray the cost of a public service we use but may not be used by many other citizens?

Not easy issues, but very important, we believe, for boaters using the national waterways. We sure would like to have them maintained so our kids and grandkids will have the cruising pleasures El and I (and many of you) have shared.

And then, of course, there are the commercial interests using ships and barges along those waterways to help maintain our economy -- that is significant to all of us -- and they usually do pay user fees.
 
It is a sad state of affairs. Here in Portland we have a historic lock on the Willamette River. Just south of Portland there are the Willamette Falls, a 40ft high natural waterfall (second only to Niagara in terms of water volume). The locks were built in 1873 to allow boat traffic to navigate past the falls and make it to Portland, the Columbia and beyond.

The Willamette Falls Locks are on the National Register of Historic Places and have been since 1974. The locks were operable until November 2011 when the USACE closed the locks permanently due to lack of funding for maintenance / repairs.

From what I've read, USACE funds a particular lock by the commercial tonnage that passes through the system. It in no way accounts for private boater usage or historical value. The Willamette Falls Locks falls prey to this funding metric since the majority of use was from private boat traffic.

Right now there is a large upwelling of support by private organizations to get the locks repaired and reopened. I hope someday soon I'll get boat access to the upper Willamette River by means other than my trailer.

I'm sure this story is not at all unique. I just wish there was a way to address the issue in a proactive way instead of reactive.
 
Beerman Rob -
So sorry to hear of the closing of the Willamette Falls lock. El and I paddled a canoe down the Willamette some years ago, and what a delightful trip that was. Locking a canoe down through that high lock, at the end of our trip, was one of the highlights of the journey.

Yes -- proactive, not just reactive. Good point. With underfunding for so many of our waterways, cruising options are liable to slowly be reduced for recreational boaters. Especially, along those waterways less used (and funded) by commercial interests.
 
Rob, Your problems and concerns up north are echoed down here along the Erie Canal. A great deal of fair weather income and visitation is from folks cruising along the canal and stopping over in the small villages along the way. Last season we experienced more lock maintenance problems and delays than in previous years. Some of the delays were due to the fact that the same lock tender was operating more than one lock, he would get you through and then drive down to the next lock to get you through that one. The same with some of the bridges, you waited until the operator arrived from another bridge. The lock masters and bridge operators were always their cheerful, professional selfs asking if you said hello to their twin brother but they certainly are getting stretched thin.
I guess we just have to hope for the best and learn to deal with what we have.
Rich
 
Beerman, sorry to hear about your lock - a sad day when 1 closes.

On a system like the Trent(45 locks in 240 miles) if 1 breaks down it would close the entire highway to through traffic - chaos during high season. This requires all locks to be maintained.

Some of the heritage locks have 1 operator for 3 locks during low use hours. It wasn't a problem for us as they are only about a half mile apart. The operator would leave the 1 door of the first lock open with the green light on so if another boat came while he was locking us up they could come in and tie up. They used binoculars to check for boats coming and also monitored ch.16.

Personally I don't find the lock passes too highly priced. For under $500. I can use any of the canals operated by Parks Canada. I met a few retirees who spend the whole summer moving slowly back and forth between locks. That is cheaper then renting a slip in a marina!

One of the ideas I heard being tossed around was to require all boats operating in the waters encompassed by the Trent to purchase a permit. The money raised being used to supplement lock maintenance. This however would meet with opposition from cottage boaters who may or may not use the locks. We use a permit system for raising money to maintain our snowmobile trails.

Dave - was that beer full or empty? :)

Regards, Rob
 
Out dated does not mean out of service. The outdated locks will continue for more generations.
I'm out dated, but still serviceable.

As far as silted in waterways - you can expect those waterways which carry commercial goods to be dredged and maintained because there is a political and economic penalty for not maintaining them.
You can expect those that WE boat on for scenic reasons to be basically ignored.

Get used to it. It is the way things are.
Get a Sharpie and be able to tour where ever there is 6 inches of draft available.
A 45 foot sharpie is comfortable and affordable (self built). Run by a small OB, or even a one cylinder diesel they are economical to cruise.
Could be the sharpie owners (S-Brats_ will be the next generation.

dr. o
 
Levitation":1hixqczg said:
<some clipped>
Get a Sharpie and be able to tour where ever there is 6 inches of draft available.
A 45 foot sharpie is comfortable and affordable (self built). Run by a small OB, or even a one cylinder diesel they are economical to cruise.
Could be the sharpie owners (S-Brats_ will be the next generation.

dr. o
Click to expand...

Denny-

"Sharpie" ?

News to me, had to look it up!

(Not a WEst Coast phenomena!) :lol:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpie_(boat) (Click on boat.)
(Won't work with the code!)

Images

More

Note: Supposed to be easy to build yourself! Would be fun!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Dr. O
I am also outdated - but do my best to maintain, so as to continue to be serviceable - although not for generations to come. :-)

And should we "get used to" all expenditures only be valid for those that give an economic return? No funding for the arts, National Parks, scenic by-ways? Certainly economic returns are important for most of my personal investments, but this week we spent to see a wonderful play, a great concert, and a fine drive in the Rockies. Wonderful expenditures. A cruise along the shore of Lake Michigan and its many fine harbors or the Erie Canal have given us many fine 'returns'

Do you suggest we 'get used to' deteriorating opportunities for recreation? Perhaps, instead, we should be proactive and speak out for maintaining a 'quality' of life and not just support an economic return for all public expenditures. We love our National Parks and cruising the Erie Canal.

Certainly there is a balance to be made in expenditures of public or personal money. I have spent hours on advisory boards considering just this - and from personal experience believe there is a critical public 'return' from public spending to improve quality of life -- as well as giving economic return.
 
Not to make this political--but it is already. The only way to get change is to put pressure on this in Washington who make the rules. The only "lobby" which we effectively have is Boat US and Seven Seas Cruising Association, maybe some of the Yacht Clubs. (By the Way Claiborne Young's wife is very ill, so his "Salty SouthEast" column is posting less now--but he and that column have been a great source of information and pressure on at least local governments).

Start with your local leaders, and go up the food chain--make your senator and Representative aware of the problems. This is ONE of the roles which federal Government is supposed to play a role in! That is common transportation, be it by road or water for interstate. The Corp of Engineers is grossly under funded--and often maintenance funds are diverted for political purposes--again write to the corp.

Complaining here brings the issue to the surface--but does not get anything done, unless we all take action!

My 25 C (not worth a penny anymore)!
 
Good post, Bob.

I write reps. two or three times a day on various issues of importance to me. A responsibility for citizens in a democracy (in my opinion) is letting our reps know our opinions - since they represent us - and government (in our democracy) is us.

Politics should not bias facts (in my opinion) - but facts should help us form opinions and we should let our representatives know our fact-based opinions.
 
Thank you Bill, and we certainly agree on that!

I am currently reading Dr. Ben Carson's "America the Beautiful". No matter what your political ilk this book reminds you about the roots of our Republic, and the individual responsibility that we should all have to interact with our government. This is something that we often forget--perticularly when we get back form letters from those representatives.

Certainly we as a people who are not organized as one special interest group, with multi million dollar lobbyists must have an effective way to bring the needs of our nation to their attention.
 
We will continue as a society to disintegrate into self-interest and corruption until the very weight of our inaction will cause a complete financial and moral collapse. The truth, I believe, is that people only work with others out of recognized self-interest. As a student of history, I can't think of one empire that has ever survived. All empires end in some form of decay. And just like Rome, our Pax Americanus will prove to be financially and logistically unsustainable. Look at the World War II generation. They were known as the "Greatest Generation." Well, they weren't too great early on, with the vast majority desiring isolation instead of taking action against the terrible evil that was consuming Europe. One country after another was conquered, and as a nation, we did not care. We only cared about ourselves. It was only until we were personally attacked at Pearl Harbor that we mobilized as a nation, out of recognized self-interest, to put forth one of the most impressive war efforts in the entire history of the world. U.S. citizens financed through U.S. War Bonds half the colossal cost for the war effort, and just about everyone worked to support that common cause. So pardon my pessimism, but things have to get really bad for us before we all collectively spring into action out of recognized necessity.
 
Yes, things usually have had to get really bad before there is collective action on a large scale -- BUT -- that shouldn't hold us back individually in trying to do our part in 'making things better' (and each of us has our own views of what constitutes better, and we respect that).

Also, smaller collective actions can sometimes rectify things to help keep things 'on the trail' in our democracy -- and such actions are going on around us every day -- and they help prevent larger-scale catastrophes.

We are optimists, and believe we should all be involved individually and collectively try to have our fact-based opinions heard by our representatives -- and perhaps help forestall the disaster you envision for all "empires."
 
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