An aerial view of the Port of Green Bay. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Port of Green Bay is urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ease Fox River flows so that ships can dock.
Heavy rainfalls have caused significant and continuous high water flow levels on the Fox River, resulting in unsafe navigational conditions. As a result, the Corps opened the dam gates to release water from Lake Winnebago, creating these abnormal water flows on the Fox River, which terminal operators determined is not currently navigable for ships to dock in the Port of Green Bay.
Officials say the closure of the Port of Green Bay is “resulting in millions of dollars of additional expense, which will be felt by residents in Northeast Wisconsin” because vessels need to go to other ports, where their cargo is then unloaded and hauled by trucks back to Green Bay.
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach contacted federal legislators and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, requesting alternative solutions to alleviate problems facing the Port of Green Bay and its terminal operators. The Port and its terminal operators are asking the Corps to reduce outflows at the Neenah and Menasha dams for a period each week to create a safe navigation window for ships to dock.
“If this situation continues, economic conditions will worsen, harming our residents and businesses who rely on the Port of Green Bay’s 14 terminal operators and to the agricultural, construction and manufacturing industries of Northeast Wisconsin,” a news release from Brown County states.
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