Video: Trouble At The John C. Stennis Lock and Dam

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COLUMBUS, MISS. (WCBI) – – John C. Stennis Lock and Dam got hit by a big surprise this weekend, and this morning it only got worse.

One loaded barge sank and is trapped under an empty one causing slower water flow. A video sent in by viewer, Andy Owens, shows how a near disaster at the John C. Stennis Lock and Dam started this past Saturday. On Monday morning, another issue crept into the picture.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Operations Manager, Rick Saucer says one of the two barges that hit the dam this weekend sunk. Heavy rains and quick currents didn’t help the situation.

“Well, what we tried to do was, we tried to keep the barges from sinking, but unfortunately weren’t able to do that, so now we’re just trying to operate the lock and dam and spillway as normal as possible.”

The barge that sank was filled with soy beans and the one sitting on top of it is empty.

“We’re passing all the water that we can. We got all the gates fully open. Unfortunately, the barge is blocking some flow, especially on gate number four.”

The barge hit spillway gate number three, but with the rise of the water it will take a few days to see how hard the hit was.

“We won’t know the extent of the damage until we can get in and de-water it.”

Saucer says the blockage is causing the head water to rise and that there should be no significant environment impact. Saucer says a third barge broke loose this past weekend. It is now near the boat ramp in the Old River Run. Saucer is hopeful that the barge will remain there. Tom Sawyer Grain, in Clay County, operates the barges.