Although a major drought has affected the Twin Cities area, the St. Thomas Rowing Club is finding positives amid the Mississippi River’s lowest water levels in years.

The Mississippi River water level is at an all-time low of 3.5 feet, which the area hasn’t seen since 1988. However, the sport of rowing isn’t affected much by the lower water levels, according to senior Tyler Burkum.

“Honestly, it’s probably helped us more than it’s hurt us with where we are on the river,” Burkum said.

One benefit to the lower waters is the speed of the boats.

The boats are not long in depth; therefore, they do not need much water to move along the stream, according to Burkum. Low levels help make the boats coast with less resistance to the oars.

“You only really need a depth of probably three or four feet to row,” Burkum said.

The rowing club practiced for a couple of hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on the Mississippi River starting near downtown St. Paul.

The club stores its boats in racks in a boathouse that is located in Raspberry Island Regional Park, which is right next to Interstate 94 and Interstate 35W.

The island is surrounded by rocky shores and a few barriers that are built next to the river, leaving narrow openings for transportation. Due to the lack of space, high water levels can easily flood the island.

“My freshman year the whole island flooded, and they had to evacuate the boat club,” Burkum said. “In a way, the drought helps that from happening.”

The club is hoping to continue to grow throughout the next few years as it receives more talented and driven rowers.

“It’s just a hard sport in general,” Burkum said, “but I met some kids that really got into it and got closer to them, so it’s super fun just to see the culture shift.”

Annabelle Wiskus can be reached at wisk9881@stthomas.edu.