The small communities that sit on the banks of the Missouri River are suffering because of the drought. Within the next few weeks, the Army Corps of Engineers expects the water levels on Lake Oahe to be at the lowest level ever.

Even though the Corps began releasing more water through the area just this past week a spokesperson says Lake Oahe is expected to reach an all-time low by the middle of the month...breaking the record set in August of 2004.

The low water has also forced the Corps to miss the minimum navigation level near Kansas City twice in the past week, and the river is producing 40 percent less hydro-power than it usually does.

These water level woes are affecting the resort community of Pollock.

Bob Shadwell repairs cars for a living. He owns a body shop in Herreid, South Dakota where he smoothes over dents and dings. But a few months ago, it wasn't the cars he was worried about...it was the damage done to his dream he was trying to repair.

"It was a devastation to me morally and financially. I never failed at anything in my life. I always strove to be successful at whatever I did."

Four years ago, Shadwell moved to South Dakota from Denver, Colorado. He bought this piece of property on Lake Oahe just outside of Pollock, fulfilling a life-long dream by opening a resort. But four years of dry weather and sinking water levels forced him into bankruptcy; he closed the doors this year.

Shadwell says, "With no financial gains by February of 2006 we were out of business and had to turn the resort back over."

Right now, water levels on Lake Oahe are so low that cows roam the area where Shadwell's boat ramp used to be.

Shadwell says, "We used to be able to load and unload boats right here and the water ran all the way up to the fish cleaning station and you could beach a boat right up here."

The grass now crackles in areas that used to be covered by water near Pollock and as the levels in Lake Oahe continue to decrease so does the business in this area. Fishing guide Dennis Bates says he's never seen the river this dry in his 10 years of working in the area.

"There's no river, there's no tourism, we're losing a lot of businesses, we're losing all kinds of money. People are just barely hanging on because we don't have the tourism or people coming in. They don't even come here just to come down and sight-see. I mean there's nothing...it's just down to nothing."

The Army Corps of Engineers says seven years of dry weather is catching up with Lake Oahe. The only solution could be heavy rains and good snow pack this winter. But until the river rises, South Dakota towns that rely on river recreation will suffer.

Shadwell says, "I really fear for the town of Pollock that it's going to just dry up and blow away with the river."

Bates says, "Everybody is closing down along the river, there's just no tourism."

As the water continues to drop, Shadwell is back to fixing cars...and there's one dent that's going to take more than a little sanding to fix.

"I'm starting over in the body shop business and that's what I left Colorado to do is to come to South Dakota and start a new life in the resort business and it's gone away."

Washed away...along with the water that used to cover this area.

The navigation season on the Missouri River will be cut short by 44 days this year because of the low levels. That's the fourth straight year the season has been shortened.