Loss of the Belleville Pool

The inability to close the gates on the dam at Belleville lead to some of the lowest river levels since the construction of the new lock system. The low water levels forced a complete closure of the 42 mile long navigational pool between Belleville and Willow Island Locks. The closure forced all commercial tows to wait above or below the pool until the gates at the dam were cleared. Although the water levels were approximately 6 feet below pool level in the following photos, the low water levels were not yet noticeable around Parkersburg and above.

	View above the hydro dam. This sandbar is usually underwater, and you can see the normal waterline along the rip rap.
	The upper mooring cell above the lock. You can also see the usual waterline here.
	Looking down on the land wall at Old Lock 20. The esplanade out to the land wall is just coming out of the water. During normal pool, the land wall is covered by 13.5 feet of water.

Sunday, January 23, 2005-

The river levels continued to steadily drop, and the water level at Parkersburg was around 5 to 6 feet below normal pool level. The gage at Parkersburg malfunctioned during this period, so no accurate gage readings were present for that area. The Muskingum River (which empties into the Ohio at Marietta) was running very fast, and provided much needed extra water for the Ohio.
The following photos demonstrate how local plants were impacted by the low water conditions. The water intakes need favorable water levels in order to produce their products. When the water intakes ran out of water, temporary diesel pumps had to be placed on a barge in deeper water. Kraton Polymers eventually had four of these pumps running in order to supply their plant with a sufficient water supply. The DuPont plant had seven pumps hooked up, but it is unclear on how many they had to actually use.

	One of Ruble's Sternwheelers and two party barges completely out of the water at Civitan Park in Belpre, Ohio.
	Close-up view of the Blennerhassett completely out of the water at Civitan Park.
	Stern view of the Centinnial completely out of the water at Civitan Park.
	The M/V Andy Mullins and various equipment at the Kraton Polymers dock and water intake.
	View of the water intake. The intake screens were above water, and pumps were placed on a barge to provide water for the plant.
	Close-up view of the pumps supplying water for the Kraton plant.
	Close-up view of the water intake.
	Views of the Kraton dock. The left photo is of the dock during low water. The right photo is of the same dock, but during the high water on January 7th.
	View of the foot of Blennerhassett Island, looking upriver. The normal waterline is around the furthest downriver tree.
	DuPont's Washington Works plant had similar problems with their water intake. They also had to install pumps in order to supply their plant with water.
	Close-up view of the pumps at DuPont.

Friday, January 28, 2005-

River levels continued to fall as crews continued to work on freeing the barges from the dam at Belleville. Some stretches of the riverbank were now exposed, having not been above water for over 40 years. As projected by many, the levels were approximately the same as the levels when the old lock systems were in place. The following photos were taken at Old Lock 20, on the W.Va. side.

River Levels:
Belleville Upper Gage: -2.4 feet (14.4 feet below normal pool)

View of the old land wall, looking upriver. During normal pool, this wall is 13 feet below the water level.

Looking across the esplanade toward the old lockhouse.

Looking across the esplanade. The metal plating covering the bay for the old lock gate is still intact.

View of the upper gate bay and the upper guide wall.

Looking downriver along the land wall. Belleville Lock is in the background.

Looking upriver toward the lock wall. The camera position is level with the normal waterline.