About the District

The District’s Duties and Authorities

The District is organized under the Urban Flood and Drainage Control Law, Mississippi Code §§ 51-35-301 – 51-35-351. The authorities entrusted to the District are spelled out at § 51-35-315, and include many powers related to the planning and construction of flood-control projects such as reservoirs, impoundments, dams, levees, channels, and similar facilities. The statute includes the specific power to cooperate with the federal government in undertaking flood and drainage control projects “for the protection of property, controlling floods, reclaiming overflow lands, and preventing overflows.”

The District is an entity of the State of Mississippi, organized for the purpose of aiding in achieving the goals of flood control, conservation, and development of lands and property for the general health and welfare of the residents within the District. In authorizing flood control districts like the District, the state legislature specifically declared that the control of Mississippi’s rivers and their tributaries to reduce the impact of flooding is “necessary and essential to the accomplishment of the aforesaid purposes.”

To that end, the District has administered and maintained the current levees on the Hinds and Rankin sides of the Pearl River since their completion in 1967. The same authorities and public-policy goals undergird the Pearl River Basin, Mississippi Federal Flood Risk Management Project.

The District’s Board of Directors

The District’s Board of Directors is appointed in accordance with Mississippi Code § 51-35-317(c). The statute provides that a flood-control district encompassing multiple municipalities and counties shall have a Board of Directors made up of one representative from each county and municipality, and in the event that results in an even number of Directors, an additional representative from the State of Mississippi. Flowood, Jackson, Pearl, Richland, and Hinds and Rankin Counties collectively appoint six representatives, necessitating a seventh Director appointed by the State.