Efforts to relieve high water levels after mid-April storms flooded communities in the Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh areas have closed the Port of Green Bay for two weeks, causing a mounting economic impact on key industries.
The Army Corps of Engineers in mid-April opened the dam gates on Lake Winnebago to relieve high water levels after major storms dumped record rainfalls across the massive Fox-Wolf Watershed. The outflows increased the water velocity on the Fox River to speeds that since April 18 have made it unsafe for ships to navigate the port.
Port of Green Bay Director Dean Haen said the entire watershed got so much rain it created one-of-a-kind conditions on the river and for the port, which generates about $217 million in economic activity each year, supporting more than 1,600 local jobs.
“This has never happened in my time here,” Haen said. “We’re working through something for the first time.”
The unexpected conditions left port terminal operators to scramble for alternate ways to take delivery of raw materials like wood pulp, petroleum products and cement that are vital to key northeastern Wisconsin industries like paper, construction and agriculture.
Haen said at least four ships, possibly as many as 10, have diverted to a different port or turned around. Companies that shift deliveries to a different port have to pay to have the materials delivered to Green Bay via trucks. One ship, the Edenborg, has been docked in the bay for 12 days now waiting it out, unable to deliver its wood pulp cargo.
Haen said the Lake Winnebago dam gates could need to remain open – making the port inaccessible – for another 10-14 days without an alternative solution.
Officials from Brown County, which operates the port, have asked the corps and federal legislators to create a “safe navigation” period each week to avoid making economic conditions worse. This would involve closing the Lake Winnebago dam gates for a set period of time to allow ships to reach their terminals, load or unload, and depart safely.
“They’re open to figuring out something to allow ships to get in and not let the water back up,” Haen said.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Port of Green Bay closure costs mount as cargo diverted, ship stranded
Reporting by Jeff Bollier, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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