JEFFERSON CITY — Dry conditions that have kept significant areas of Missouri in drought this summer are moving closer to becoming a multi-year event.
With an executive order declaring a drought alert scheduled to expire on Dec. 1, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Dru Buntin said Wednesday that he will request an extension of the governor’s directive that will keep the state in emergency response mode at least into the spring.
Buntin called the lack of rain and the effects it is having on crops, cattle and river levels “dire” as he spoke to members of the state’s Drought Assessment Committee while it drizzled outside.
“I’m most concerned about water levels on the Mississippi,” Buntin said, pointing to commercial navigation that could be impacted at a time when farmers are beginning to ship their grain in barges.
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Gov. Mike Parson attended the meeting, which was the fourth gathering of the group since July.
“We are a long way from getting out of this drought,” Parson said, adding that his cattle farm in Bolivar has felt the effects of the extended dry period. “Winter is going to be tough. Whether you are on a farm or not, it’s going to affect you.”
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, areas in central and western Missouri, south of the Missouri River, are in extreme drought. Ƶ is listed as “abnormally dry.”
The monitor notes that an estimated 2.1 million Missourians reside in areas affected by the lack of precipitation.
Mark Fuchs of the National Weather Service said predictions show there will be some rain in the state in the coming week, but it won’t be enough to overcome months of shortfalls.
“We’ll take what we can get, but we need more than that,” Fuchs said.
Zack Leasor of the University of Missouri Extension told the panel that Missouri could face a higher forest fire risk this fall because of dry days, low humidity and dry conditions on the ground.
Chance Bitner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, raised concern about low flow levels on the Missouri River affecting water intake lines for the Callaway Nuclear Generating Station north of Jefferson City and Ameren’s coal-fired power plant in Labadie, located east of Washington.
Davor Karic of the Corps’ Ƶ office predicted a “slow fall” in water levels on the Mississippi River, potentially affecting shipping costs for farmers.
Last year, the Mississippi plummeted to low depths, affecting barge traffic on one of the major arteries for moving coal, oil, natural gas, chemicals and commodities in the U.S.
This year, dredging is underway on a section of the Mississippi south of Ƶ to give barges some extra depth if water levels continue to slip.
Rep. Tim Taylor, R-Bunceton, told the committee that he is concerned the prolonged drought could begin to affect topsoil similar to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. He said Cooper County, located west of Columbia, has been hit hard by the lack of rain.
“My home county is suffering,” Taylor said.
It is not clear when Parson may formally extend his executive order. The governor leaves for a trade mission to Japan on Friday.
“Every day this goes on it’s going to have an impact on the economy,” Parson said. “We just have to hold things together until we get some rain.”