A little over a year after reaching a record high, the Mississippi River is slipping into record low territory, but transit is not expected to be affected.

The Mississippi River at Vicksburg has fallen from 16.9 feet May 1 to 8.8 feet today, and it is predicted to drop to 6.1 feet by July 11 unless there is significant rainfall in the Upper Mississippi region, according to the National Weather Service.

“For the foreseeable future — the next five or six days — there is no relief in sight,” said Katelyn Costanza, a senior hydrologist with the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center.

A year ago, the Mississippi was at 41.8 feet and floodwater was receding from a record high 57.1 feet. If the river falls below 7.5 feet, 2012 will go on record as having one of the lowest water marks ever recorded, Costanza said.

“Last year we were at the highest stage ever,” Costanza said. “Now we’re looking at really, really low stages this year.”

The record low for the river is negative 7 feet recorded in 1940, Costanza said, but that doesn’t mean the river was dry.

“It’s not necessarily a zero-means-zero level,” Costanza said.

The river is considered to be at zero feet when it falls to a depth of 46.23 feet, she said, and any depth below that is recorded as a negative number.

During the peak of the flood, the actual depth of the river was about 140 feet at the deepest point of the channel near the bridges. This morning it was about 90 feet, according to data from the Corps of Engineers.

Even if the river drops to the predicted low, navigation shouldn’t be a problem for industrial boats, said Drew Smith a hydraulic engineer with the Corps of Engineers.

“We’ve gotten to zero before and negative 1, and we can still maintain navigation even at those stages, though navigation is restricted,” Smith said.

Thunderstorms in Minnesota could keep the river around the 8-foot mark for the next few weeks, Smith said.

No navigation problems have been reported at the Port of Vicksburg, said Wayne Mansfield, the port’s executive director.

If the water falls too low, boats will be forced to enter and exit the port single file, Mansfield said, but he doesn’t expect any problems this summer.

“It’s never really been an issue, even years ago when the river got into a negative stage” he said.

The Corps of Engineers is expected to begin dredging the port in July, which will assist navigation, Mansfield said.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of bulk goods ranging from grain to aluminum pass through the port each year, Mansfield said.

“That underscores the importance of maintaining navigable waterways,” he said.

In the Vicksburg District, seven ports and harbors on the Mississippi River are maintained through maintenance dredging: Vicksburg Harbor, Claiborne County Port, Madison Parish Port, Lake Providence Harbor, Greenville Harbor, Yellow Bend Port and Rosedale Harbor. Cutterhead dredges under contract to the Corps dredge the ports annually.

In January, the Corps received $55 million in emergency funds for dredging the silting river and keeping depths safe for shipping.

For fishermen, the low water is creating dramatic scenery and tough conditions.

On Monday afternoon, Don McArthur of Edwards took his fishing boat for a test run north of LeTourneau Landing in front of a mile-long sandbar.

“This is the biggest I’ve ever seen it,” said McArthur, who fishes on the river at least three times a week.

Behind the sand bar, Hennessey Bayou was about 8 inches deep Monday afternoon. Trees that are typically below the water line had fully exposed roots, and hundreds of feet of soggy muck surrounded the river, making the water inaccessible to shore fisherman.

The worst part about low water, McArthur said, is being passed by towboats.

“Their wake hits the bank and comes back,” he said. “Even on my bigger boat it’s difficult.”

Despite the low water, the bass are biting as well as ever, McArthur said.

“It’s been good fishing this year,” he said. “There’s a lot of clear water when the river gets like this.”