Experts say around $800 million worth of crops were lost in the 2019 floods that stagnated water for roughly six months in parts of the Mississippi Delta. As a result, farm lands were ruined, more than 600 homes were damaged, and rural shopkeepers lost their businesses.
Col. Rob Hilliard is with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He says the Yazoo Backwater Project would create a system of levees, drains, and pumps to mitigate flooding in the delta.
“The pumps, as part of this larger system that’s part of the Mississippi River contributory system, provide a balance to the backwater area,” said Hilliard.
“So when we see this type of flooding as we’ve seen in the past couple of years, and again it’s flooded nine out of the last ten years, the pumps itself can bring a balance and in some ways actually benefit both the aquatic and wildlife in the area.”
The Yazoo backwater area covers over 4,000 square miles, starting just north of Vicksburg and up Mississippi Highway 12 toward the South Delta. The project has been proposed for years and was vetoed by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2008 but was resurrected because of last year's floods. Completing a project of this kind could take years.
Critics of the project, like environmental groups Healthy Gulf and the Mississippi River Network, say it would drain the area's wetlands. Hilliard disagrees.
“The operation of the pumps won’t convert any wetlands to non-wetlands. And through an adaptive management plan, the pumps actually do bring a balance for the benefit of the entire backwater area,” said Hilliard.
The Corps is urging Mississippi residents to read the draft proposal online and submit comments. The public comment period ends today. To submit your comment on the Yazoo Backwater Project, visit www.forgottenbackwaterflood.com.
