Low river levels create havoc at Mud Island Marina – FOX13 News Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Good luck getting out of the mud. The Mississippi River continues to plunge to historic lows and this is causing a major mud problem at Mud Island Marina.

As FOX13 discovered, he’s definitely not floating anyone’s boat.

The water level has gotten so low that some people call it the Memphis Mud Yacht Club.

“That’s what we call it. If you want to get your boat out, bring your four-wheeler,” Joe Weiss said.

Weiss is the general manager of the Memphis Yacht Club. He said there were over a hundred boats stuck here. Some of them are stuck in up to six feet of mud.

The concern is that propeller shafts are bent and damage can be caused to boat hulls. Some of them, he said, may not come off when the water starts to rise due to mud suction, and they may need to be brought up and removed with large mechanical winches.

“It’s one of those things that we will see. We hope not and we expect not. You’ll have to wait and see,” Weiss said.

Since the water started to fall, it’s revealed some weird things people have been trashing along the boats, including a child’s rocking horse, a barbecue grill, a gas tank, a fire extinguisher, and a piece of furniture that looks like be a lounge chair.

Ricky Hudson works on the wharf.

“It’s always low this time of year, but now it’s gotten a little lower,” Ricky Hudson said.

Weiss said the water dropped quickly here, faster than expected. This caught many boat owners off guard.

“We tell people to move their boats one day and the next day it’s in the mud. So they can’t get down here fast enough to move it. Weiss said.

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