Jackson floods, and it's a basin-wide problem.
Our nation paid attention in 2020 when the Pearl River rose and flooded parts of Northeast Jackson, Lakeland Drive, and the south end of Downtown. Our nation paid attention in 2022 when flood waters overwhelmed the O.B. Curtis plant, and many of the city's residents went without clean tap water for weeks. The nation knows that flooding is a problem along the Pearl River.
River flooding is not the only flooding that harms residents of the Jackson metro. Creekside flash floods preceded the major floods of 2020 and 2022 and the disastrous Easter Flood of 1979. Sometimes flash floods happen and are not followed by river flooding. Flash floods are a more frequent threat to people and their property.
Flooding in the Jackson metro is a danger along the Pearl River and its tributaries. Flooding in the Jackson metro is, therefore, a problem of the Pearl River Basin.
Jackson floods, and there's funding to address the problem.
The United States Congress allocated 220 million dollars for a flood risk mitigation project for the Pearl River Basin in Hinds and Rankin counties. This funding can and should be used to reduce flood risks for the metro's riverside and creekside communities.