For more than 100 years, headwater flooding of the Pearl River has caused disruption to businesses and industry throughout the Jackson metropolitan area, putting over 5,000 commercial and residential structures, several hospitals, and interstate highways at risk of flood damage. The most notable of the numerous flood events that have affected the study area is the Easter Flood of 1979, which disrupted businesses across the Jackson metropolitan area and affected major transportation routes, including closing two interstate highways and restricting access to critical care facilities. The resulting damage to residential and commercial structures and infrastructure (including the 46 MGD wastewater treatment plant serving the metropolitan area) totaled approximately $223 million. If a comparable event occurred in 2018, damages would surpass $1 billion.

Federal flood control measures in the Pearl River Watershed date back to at least the early 1900s. Multiple studies have been conducted on the Pearl River Watershed over the past sixty years, ranging from reconnaissance level studies to feasibility level studies. However, no major flood reduction measures have been put in place since the devastating floods of 1979 and 1983, leaving the majority of the flood-prone Jackson metropolitan area unprotected.

Since 2012, the Rankin Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District (Flood Control District), as the non-Federal sponsor, has been working with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) on an Integrated Draft Feasibility and Environmental Impact Statement (FS/EIS) in order to justify federal participation in flood damage risk reduction within the Pearl River Basin in Mississippi.

The draft FS/EIS has undergone a multi-step intense review process including a review by the Vicksburg District office of the USACE, a USACE’s Agency Technical Review process, and an Independent External Peer Review conducted by Battelle Institute. The Flood Control District is currently working with the USACE to complete the remaining elements of the review process including reviews by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and other federal agency reviews, State Historic Preservation, and Tribal consultations. The draft FS/EIS will be presented for public comment and public meetings beginning in June 2018, and then will be shared with HQUSACE for further federal agency consultation and review.

Throughout this review process, the Jackson metropolitan region has remained under the threat of flooding from the Pearl River with several near events happening over the past 20 years. The Flood Control District has taken prudent steps to identify a flood control project that is technically feasible and environmentally sound and hopes to receive approval from the USACE in 2018 so that substantive flood protection can be put in place.