Periodic flooding hurts Mississippi. But could mitigation there hurt downstream in Louisiana?

JACKSON, Miss. — Flooding left squishy, stinky messes in hundreds of homes in Mississippi's capital city in 2020 — a recurring problem when heavy rains push the Pearl River over its banks.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it intends to make a final recommendation by the end of this year on flood-control plans for the Pearl River Basin in the Jackson area, after decades of discussion among local, state and federal officials.

The biggest point of contention is whether to develop a new lake near Jackson. It would would be south of, and smaller than, a reservoir built outside the city more than 60 years ago.

While Jackson-area residents and business owners are pushing for flood mitigation, people are also expressing concern about the potential environmental impact in areas downstream in both Mississippi and Louisiana.

The corps is wrapping up a public comment period on a report it released in June, which included several flood-control proposals such as elevating, flood-proofing or buying out some homes in the Jackson area; development of a new lake; or the addition of levees.

During a hearing last month, Deion Thompson told corps officials he had to evacuate his northeast Jackson home because of the 2020 flooding. He said he wants to protect houses without destroying the environment.

“We’re just sitting ducks waiting for the next flood to happen,” said Thompson, who has lived in the same neighborhood for more than 20 years.

The Pearl River originates northeast of Jackson and flows about 490 miles (789 kilometers) through central and southern Mississippi and south Louisiana before draining into the Mississippi Sound, Lake Borgne and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Jackson area also experienced significant floods in 1961, 1979, 1982 and 1983, with some impact along the Pearl River downstream.

During a public hearing in Slidell, Louisiana, Gerald Morris said he has lived in Slidell since 1977 and experienced floods in 1979 and 1983. He said he has a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering, a master’s degree in geophysics and doctoral degree in earth sciences.

“If you can show that your various options that you’re looking at as far as dredging and all would reduce the amount of water coming down into the flood plain of the Pearl River, then it might be acceptable," Morris said. "But until you can do that, then I am violently opposed to any sort of increase in the amount of water coming down from Mississippi into the Louisiana coast.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker is among the Mississippi officials who have pushed for federal funding to improve flood control in the Jackson area.

Four members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation sent a letter Monday to Michael Connor, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, about how flood-control proposals for central Mississippi could impact their state.

“In Southeast Louisiana, our unique landscape, created in part by the Pearl River system, is essential to our way of life, culture, and economy,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Rep. Troy Carter and Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy said in the letter.

“Before this project is allowed to move forward, we need to know that it will not decrease the water flow downriver, impact our coastal restoration efforts, or result in additional flooding in areas downriver from the proposed project," the Louisiana officials wrote.

A governing board in central Mississippi, the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District, has advocated the development of a new 1,700-acre (688-hectare) lake along the Pearl River by Jackson. This proposal is called the “One Lake” project because it is an alteration of a proposal years ago to create two new lakes.

The Corps of Engineers' report said construction of “One Lake” would cost between $1 billion and $2.1 billion, and the expense would be too high for the amount of flood protection the lake would provide.

The engineers' report had alternatives that would cost less, including a scaled-back proposal for a new lake that would not encompass environmentally sensitive areas.

Greg Divinity, a pastor in Jackson, said officials have been talking about improving flood-control measures since he was a junior in high school.

“Now, my grandbabies are juniors in high school,” Divinity said during the Jackson hearing as he urged the Corps of Engineers to move forward with a plan. “If we continue to kick the can down the road, my grandchildren’s grandchildren will be juniors in high school and will still be kicking this can down the road."