Coast Guard Responds to Rising Water on Inland River System

NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard has stood up a Maritime Transportation System Recovery Unit, Tuesday, in response to rising water levels on the Inland River System that have impacted commercial traffic.

The MTSRU is comprised of experts in maritime mobility, incident response and port operations who work with stakeholders to restore the commercial capacity of a waterway following a natural or manmade disruption.

As a result of high water in the Inland River System, the Coast Guard has established multiple safety zones and implemented vessel restrictions in several locations.

There are no waterway closures at this time.

Restrictions are in place to help ensure the safe facilitation of maritime traffic and may vary according to geographic Captain of the Port zones. Information on these restrictions can be found on the Coast Guard’s Homeport site.

Mariners are urged to take caution, proceed at a safe speed and adhere to established safety zones and restrictions, which will decrease wake impact to levees and other established flood control structures.

Flood response operations are continuing in the Memphis, Tn. area. The Coast Guard continues to work closely with the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as local and state partners, to monitor possible impacts to navigation interests in the Inland River System as a result of forecasted river crests.

Information on river water levels can be found at www.rivergages.com

More information on the flood response can be found at:

District Eight External Affairs: http://www.d8externalaffairs.com/go/doc/425/455751/

District Eight Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/uscoastguardheartland

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OperationWatershed2011

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Press Releases: http://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/publicaffairs/News/press_releases/pressrelease.asp