Evaluating Flood Control Options: Downstream versus Upstream Needs

Jackson Mississippi has been the victim of severe flooding over the past 25 years. During this period, the communities along the Pearl River through Jackson and downstream to Columbia, Mississippi, have struggled to develop flood control options which improve the situation for everyone. Levees, reservoir operational changes, and new impoundments have been proposed without reaching consensus. This leaves these communities with worsening conditions that increase their vulnerability each year. The most recent proposal has been to build two contiguous lakes downstream of the Ross Barnett Reservoir through the Jackson area. These lakes would not have active gated outlet structures, but would have passive weirs controlling discharges from each lake. Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of the proposal were performed to evaluate the claims made by the project proponents. This paper will discuss the results of the analyses and describe the interests involved and how they would be affected by the project.