The disastrous 2019 Yazoo Backwater Flood lasted from January until August and flooded 548,000 acres, including 231,000 acres of crop land, flooded 686 homes and three highways. This historic backwater flood showed the damage that long-duration flooding can do to people, homes, farms, roads, wildlife, trees and the environment. Since 2022 the Council of Environmental Quality has led a Federal Interagency Team consisting of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). This Federal Interagency Team came to the Mississippi South Delta several times to meet with the citizens, public officials, farmers and environmentalists. They worked together to come up with a new plan for the Yazoo Backwater Area that is acceptable to all three agencies.
The result is a 25,000 cfs Pumping Plant that holds 90’ during the crop season (March 25th–October 15th) and 93’ during the non-crop season (October 16th–March 24th). This Pump will not activate until the backwater reaches 90’ instead of the old plan to activate at 87’ (2007 plan) or even 80’ (1986 plan). At 90’ there will be 156,000 acres underwater. The 25,000 cfs Pump is much larger than the 14,000 cfs pump as proposed in 2007. The smaller pump would not have been able to keep up with the backwater flooding but this larger pump can keep up! The historic 2019 backwater flood crested at 98.2’ flooding 548,000 acres. The old 2007 plan of a 14,000 cfs pump at 87’ would have crested at 95.9’ which would have flooded 350,000 acres. The new plan would have crested at 93’ during the non-crop season which would have flooded 253,000 acres and then it would have pumped it down to 90’ flooding 156,000 acres for the 2019 crop-season.
Not only will the new plan protect our community from devastating floods – it will also provide numerous ecological benefits. One benefit is the Steele Bayou Drainage Structure will remain open to an elevation of 75’ rather than 70’. This will improve floodplain connectivity, encourage nutrient and dissolved oxygen exchange, and improve fish movement between basins. Another feature of the new plan includes thirty-four Supplemental Low Flow Groundwater Wells near the levee in the northern portion of the Yazoo Basin. These wells will benefit fisheries by pumping water into Mississippi Delta Streams during the low-flow season in the late Fall of each year. The plan also includes purchasing and developing approximately 6,150 acres of compensatory mitigation from willing sellers before pump construction begins.
The Corps started working on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in July 2023 and the Draft EIS was released on June 28, 2024. The Final EIS was released on November 29, 2024. The Record of Decision (ROD) will be signed in mid-January, 2025 signifying that the Corps has completed all environmental compliance and they are ready to start design and construction on the project. Once the ROD is signed and money has been appropriated the Corps can begin engineering and design and start to purchase the mitigation lands.
The Mississippi Levee Board is extremely grateful to the Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for working together to develop this new plan for the Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project. The Levee Board is thrilled with this new plan and appreciates the strong and steady leadership and support of the entire Mississippi Congressional Delegation including Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Rep. Bennie Thompson. We are all looking forward to the day that the Mississippi South Delta will finally have adequate flood protection to protect our people, homes, infrastructure, cropland, wildlife, trees and the environment.
Peter Nimrod is Chief Engineer with the Mississippi Levee Board in Greenville, Mississippi.