I did a search in Yourdan, zip. Did a GN search, zip. Did a DejaNews search, one hit, a question - no answers.

Since a lot of heat has been on the Panama Canal, according to the PhillyNews link at GN, to be closed as of 31Dec99. And somewhere very recently, can't find article, it was stated that a Norweigen company is working on the Suez (rather strange since it is a sea level canal) remediation.

Well, naturally I started thinking about the St. Lawrence Seaway - a long canal, lock, and natural waterway connecting the Atlantic with the Great Lakes ports.

Anyone heard of the remediation status of the Seaway?

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), March 19, 1999

Answers

Isn't the Mississippi locked also?

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 19, 1999.

The US (Corps of Engineers) and Canadians (?) have said nothing I'm aware of in any public forum. The usual infrastructure, administration, power, controller, sensors, radios, and control computer adn power potential failures abound. Finances, central management, etc.

Same for Tennesee, Missouri, Ohio, Mississippi, Mobile, Hudson, Chcago & Illinois, Arkansas, and Eire canals and rivers - simply no word.

Main primary effect is due to intermittant or total power failure. Many of these would be "closed" by the lack of power to safely move barges and shipping primarily - can't move the lock controls, pump or flood, can't open doors, valves, etc.

So barges get stuck in the lock, above the lock, below the lock, or at a port downstream waiting for their tow to get to the industry. Steel, limestone, Coke, Sulphur, Coal, Oil, Chemicals, steel products, ......Wheat, corn, barley, .....

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 19, 1999.

The part of the Missouri that supports shipping has no locks. The locks in the Mississippi are only north of Saint Louis. The Ohio is loaded with lock

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), March 19, 1999.

Good point, I should have remembered that - only the MidWest, Upper Plains (grain elevators), and Ohio River Valley would be isolated by lock failures. You could still ship between St Louis and points south - provided you could get the shore cranes and factories to operate to load the goods themselves. Trains would be an option to the elevators and industries south of St Louis - if they remain operational satisfactorily. Trucks essential to move goods to the river bank industries. Forklifts and liquid cargo pumps, belts, and many shoreside cranes are electric driven. Some are diesel and would be okay for a while.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 19, 1999.

Also the Kanawha River in and around Charleston, WV. Has about a half dozen locks from just above the confluence with the Ohio to up past Gauley Bridge. Why s this important?? Charleston and the Kanawha River Valley are host to 27 chemical plants -- everything from Union Carbide to Westvaco has a plant there. Almost all bulk products are shipped by barge although thats changing since the Interstates were upgraded. If the locks didn't work, there would be a major problem getting the finished materials out of there. As usual in WV, roads aren't worth a darn and I don't think there are enough loading facilities avalilable for trucking to replace the barges.

-- Lobo (Hiding@woods.com), March 20, 1999.

Good question!

The Seaway is jointly run by the U.S. St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. (SLSDC) and the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. (SLSMC).

At the U.S. site http://www.dot.gov/slsdc/news/news.html This problem is not just confined to computer programs. Any operating device or machinery that may store time/date information or contains clock/calendar activated operations is potentially affected by the Y2K problem.

The SLSDC recently completed repair of ten "mission critical" computer data systems and in the process we performed a Y2K problem assessment of all our Massena NY buildings and offices, lock operations and maintenance facilities. The Corporation is Y2K compliant.

The purpose of this message is to alert our customers and contacts to this serious problem. We urge your immediate implementation of internal assessments to identify and repair potential Y2K problems regardless of the nature of your business or industry. Please review the following and act on this issue:

What is the scope of the Y2K problem? Y2K poses a serious threat to the global economy in which we live and work. Our economy is dependent on electronic processing and exchange of financial and other data. For example, imagine the impact of operating failures by financial firms, traffic control devices, or power companies and the resulting disruption in our daily lives.

What is the Federal Government doing about the Y2K problem? Internally agencies are working to ensure that mission-critical systems are Y2K compliant. Externally they are making inventories of all their data exchanges with other federal and non-federal state and local governments to minimize Y2K disruptions. For high-risk areas, agencies are developing contingency plans to ensure that they will be able to conduct business even if their systems or outside services are not available. Agencies are also reaching out to domestic and international organizations to increase awareness of the problem.

What can individuals and private sector firms do? Start asking the right questions about their own situations, namely; do they have a problem?; what is the extent of the problem?; what are they doing about it?; what are their suppliers, service providers, and financial institutions doing about Y2K?

Information sources on the Y2K problem: Some of the best information is on the Web. Contact the CIO Council Committee on Year 2000 at, www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/y2khome.htm; and the Small Business Administration at, www.sba.gov/y2k.

David G. Sanders --------------------------------------------------

At the Canadian site, http://www.seaway.ca/english/seaway/index.html bobbia@slic.com), March 20, 1999.

oh man....I don't know what I did...but...yikes! Sorry...told you I was tired!!! Talk about one huge link! LOL Sorry *blush*

-- Bobbi (bobbia@slic.com), March 20, 1999.

Let's try this again:

The following is from the dot Seaway site (U.S. at http://www.dot.gov/slsdc/news/news.html)

A message from Acting Administrator David G. Sanders about the YEAR 2000 (Y2K) Problem:

Many computers and data systems use two digits to keep track of the date. It is an international concern that on January 1, 2000 these systems will recognize the "double zero" as 1900, which would generate erroneous data and/or cease operation entirely.

This problem is not just confined to computer programs. Any operating device or machinery that may store time/date information or contains clock/calendar activated operations is potentially affected by the Y2K problem.

The SLSDC recently completed repair of ten "mission critical" computer data systems and in the process we performed a Y2K problem assessment of all our Massena NY buildings and offices, lock operations and maintenance facilities. The Corporation is Y2K compliant.

The purpose of this message is to alert our customers and contacts to this serious problem. We urge your immediate implementation of internal assessments to identify and repair potential Y2K problems regardless of the nature of your business or industry. Please review the following and act on this issue:

What is the scope of the Y2K problem? Y2K poses a serious threat to the global economy in which we live and work. Our economy is dependent on electronic processing and exchange of financial and other data. For example, imagine the impact of operating failures by financial firms, traffic control devices, or power companies and the resulting disruption in our daily lives.

What is the Federal Government doing about the Y2K problem? Internally agencies are working to ensure that mission-critical systems are Y2K compliant. Externally they are making inventories of all their data exchanges with other federal and non-federal state and local governments to minimize Y2K disruptions. For high-risk areas, agencies are developing contingency plans to ensure that they will be able to conduct business even if their systems or outside services are not available. Agencies are also reaching out to domestic and international organizations to increase awareness of the problem.

What can individuals and private sector firms do? Start asking the right questions about their own situations, namely; do they have a problem?; what is the extent of the problem?; what are they doing about it?; what are their suppliers, service providers, and financial institutions doing about Y2K?

Information sources on the Y2K problem: Some of the best information is on the Web. Contact the CIO Council Committee on Year 2000 at, www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/y2khome.htm; and the Small Business Administration at, www.sba.gov/y2k.

David G. Sanders

And the Canadian site is: http://www.seaway.ca/english/index.html and I couldn't find any mention on that site about Y2k.

And as tried to say in the first screwed up post, I live right near the Massena NY Seaway Authority Office. I will call them Monday to see what I can find out and post whatever I find out.

Again sorry for that messed up post! I guess I didn't close a tag somewhere.....*still blushing* heh

-- Bobbi (bobbia@slic.com), March 20, 1999.

Bobbi,

What happened is that twice you left off the second quote mark (") after the URL in a link. (E.g., <a href="URL>...) It only _looks_ spectacular. :-)

-- No Spam Please (No_Spam_Please@anon_ymous.com), March 20, 1999.

Well whether it is in blue, black, or black and white and blue - that is a complete, reasonable, and thorough report. Unusual from a government agency, but complete and to the point.

Note - reporting (in this case) "we are complete" - when the project is in fact over - is the one point when "percent complete" is a valid report from the government. Now, whether they find additional interfaces and problems from unexpected sources after year 2000 is another matter, but reporting complete in such a way, will at least begin them towards recovery from a valid start point.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 20, 1999.

thanks all. Looks like the Seaway, on its own, will be OK. Don't you all wish we could read more statements like their's - we are completed and y2k compliant.

A real eye opener on the number of locked rivers and canals, I had no idea. Hopefully they all are as far along as the Seaway!

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), March 20, 1999.