Unseasonable rises of the Mississippi River and swift currents have forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mat Sinking Unit to pull up ship between Port Gibson and Natchez and move operations downstream to New Orleans, said Corps spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale this morning.

Each year, the unit reinforces the river’s levee system with concrete mats that are sunk near the banks of the river during traditional low water months of June through November. This year, the unit began working its way south near Kentucky, and had been sinking mats on the Louisiana side of the river about 42 river miles south of Vicksburg when operations were moved Wednesday, said Breazeale.

“This doesn’t really affect our overall operations. They’re just moving south where the river channel is wider and they will not experience as high of rises as we’re seeing here,” he said. “This is an abnormal water level for this time of year, and the unit will likely hit that area next year instead.”

As of this morning, the river at Vicksburg measured 27.9 feet, a rise of 3 feet from the day previous. Flood stage at Vicksburg is 43 feet. In New Orleans, the river is about 11 feet below flood stage of 17 feet, at 5.8 feet as of Wednesday evening. However, the levees protect the city up to a 20 foot river stage.