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Corps Says Lakes Plans Dead, Wants Levees

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has told the local levee board that it has to agree on a flood-control plan for the Pearl River by the end of Septemberand is warning that two controversial development plans are likely already dead in the water due to financial and environmental barriers.

Flood Control 'Kumbaya'?

The two-dozen officials representing various government and civic agencies couldn't decide on which song was best suited for the signing of a document that enables work on a long-awaited flood-control project to begin in earnest.

McGowan: 'Everybody's Together' on One Lake

Since scrapping the highly controversial Two Lakes plan in favor of a more modest single-lake concept in 2011, Levee Board meetings have been relatively tame.

MDA Ponies Up $1 Million for ‘One Lake’

Two years ago, after John McGowan's flood-control plan known as "Two Lakes" went down in flames, the longtime oil magnate and sometimes developer retooled his dream for a waterfront development that would hopefully protect Jackson from floods and provide an economic boon for the city.

All About Water

The capital city is all abuzz about water, and so are we. This issue, Ward Schaefer writes about the broken water mains in "Singing the Broken-Pipe Blues": why they broke, who gets the bill and more. In "The Lakes Plan That Won't Recede," Adam Lynch looks at who stands to gain the most from the proposed Two Lakes plan.

Speed to Turn Over Property, Calls Ethics Issue ‘Moot'

Jackson businessman and Levee Board member Leland Speed is donating a portion of the property that spurred charges of an ethics violation to Mississippi College. Speed told the Jackson Free Press this morning that he is donating his interest in a family-owned property that borders the Pearl River floodplain to quell any possible concerns over his ethics.

Levee Board Approves Compromise Lake25X

Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board approved a resolution to re-engage the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with a $205 million levee expansion for the Pearl River, but with the addition of a small lake ending just south of the LeFleur's Bluff Park and its adjoining Mayes Lake campground.

‘One Lake’ Draws Mixed Reax

After years of planning, debate and revision, public sentiment about a plan to dam part of the Pearl River and create a lake that is designed to reduce flooding in Jackson and draw real-estate investments still appears to be muddled.

Corps Rejects Lake 255

Read Billy Orr's letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (PDF, 256 KB)

[Stauffer] Facts, Damn Facts and Opinions

The Jackson Free Press publisher explains why the newspaper does not support Two Lakes or the 1996 Levee Plan. Instead, we need to put politics aside and seek a basin-wide solution.

Little Love for Levees

The meeting room for the Rankin-Hinds Pearl Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board in Flowood filled with rancor Monday, Feb. 8, after the board learned that the state Legislature may vote to dilute its authority to make flood-control decisions for the metro area, clearing the way for the controversial Two Lakes development plan to come back to life.

Lake Developers Detail Plan, Hope for Corps Blessing

A Jackson oilman who has long lobbied for ambitious development along the Pearl River in Jackson is hoping that the U.S. Corps of Engineers will give at least an initial nod to his latest lake plan this Thursday at a meeting in Vicksburg.

'One Lake' Bond Bill Passes House By Slim Margin After Questions

Proponents of the "One Lake" project along the Pearl River through Jackson got a financial boost when the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a nearly $100-million bond and loan measure by a three-vote margin on Thursday.

Developers Push a Lake for Downtown

UPDATED: December 15, 2009

Jackson developer David Watkins, whose ventures include the King Edward Hotel and the Farish Street entertainment district, unveiled plans for a downtown lake and riverwalk at a media event yesterday. The project, which is still in the early stages of planning, would complement the problematic Two Lakes project for the Pearl River, but its completion would not depend on that development, according to Ben Allen, president of Downtown Jackson Partners, which sponsored the event.

McGowan Hopes to Design ‘One Lake,' New Flood Control

by Adam Lynch April 11, 2011 The Two Lakes Foundation is proposing both a name change and a new partnership with the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District.

The Saga of Flood Control

Ever since the massive Easter Flood of 1979, the fear of another "big one" has loomed over Jackson.

Speed Answers Ethics Questions with Challenge to Levee Board

After giving away part of his family's property bordering the Two Lakes development footprint last week in response to ethics questions, Jackson businessman Leland Speed today asked fellow Levee Board members to provide a list of gifts they have received from vendors and contractors doing business with the levee board.

Time to Build Levees

This week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, closed their four-year study of Pearl River flood solutions in the Jackson metro, issuing a press release that was unambiguously titled: "Study Finds Levee Plan Best Option For Jackson Metro."

‘One Lake’ Tax Sails Forward

Previous plans to dramatically remake the portion of the Pearl River that flows through the Jackson metropolitan area ran aground, but legislation is sailing toward the governor's desk that would pay for the project by taxing selected property in the new "One Lake" footprint.

One Lake Instead of Two?

The Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board is pressing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take seriously a lake plan to coincide with a Corps-preferred levee expansion the board approved in December.

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