The latest iteration of a plan to widen the Pearl River and provide flood control for areas in and around the capital city is getting more attention after the recent record flooding. MPB's Kobee Vance reports on a project that's been years in the making, and still faces opposition.
The seven-mile long One Lake project proposes to provide flood control for parts of Jackson, Flowood, Pearl and Richland all along the Pearl River. Blake Mendrop of Mendrop Engineering was hired by the Rankin Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District, also known as the Levee Board, to study the environmental impact of the One Lake Project. He believes the recent flooding in Jackson could have been significantly reduced under the proposed project.
"There's different elevations that would be improved, and in the downtown Jackson area, it could be a foot, a foot and a half [less flooding] for this event. But it was 160 [homes] that we think may have gotten water in them, and down to around nine or ten [homes] during the project for the northeast Jackson area."
The project isn't without opposition. In the many years of its planning, experts have criticized One Lake, citing issues with bridges, endangering wildlife, and river commerce. Andrew Whitehurst is with the group Healthy Gulf. He says the plan could help flooding in the rainy months, but in the dry season, he's concerned about how it could affect water levels in communities downstream.
"This time of year, January, February, March, it wouldn't make much of a difference, but when it gets hot and the river is at low flow, folks downstream and industries downstream have concerns about the quantity of water that comes down to them."
While the One Lake project is still waiting on a significant funding source and approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, it's still not clear whether the project will move forward.