VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District is scheduled to host a public meeting regarding flooding at Eagle Lake, Mississippi, March 22 at 6 p.m. Central at the district’s headquarters building, located at 4155 East Clay Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 39183.
District engineers will provide an overview of current and forecasted conditions in the Steele Bayou Sump and discuss the implications of these conditions on Eagle Lake. At this time, no decision has been made to fill the lake further through the Muddy Bayou Control Structure.
Due to forecast indications that the Muddy Bayou Control Structure – a drainage structure that regulates water flowing into or out of Eagle Lake through Muddy Bayou, a tributary of Steele Bayou – would overtop with flood waters from the Steele Bayou Sump, the district opened the gates of the control structure March 12 and closed the gates March 17 to raise the elevation of Eagle Lake to 86 feet. The Muddy Bayou Control Structure was constructed as a fish and wildlife mitigation feature to improve fisheries in Eagle Lake and is used by USACE during periods of high water in the Yazoo River Basin to reduce the risk of damage to the drainage structure itself and to prevent scour or further damage to roads and homes surrounding the lake.
District engineers have continued to monitor the water elevation near the Muddy Bayou Control Structure and throughout the Yazoo River Basin. The current water elevation in Eagle Lake is 86.5 feet and the elevation in Muddy Bayou, on the opposite side of the drainage structure from the lake, is 96.9 feet.
Due to excessive rainfall in the Mississippi Valley and Yazoo Basin in February and March 2019, the Steele Bayou Control Structure’s gates have been closed since Feb. 15, preventing water from draining from the majority of the Delta. The Steele Bayou Control Structure prevents the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers from backing up and further flooding the Delta. The current stages in the lower Delta, in the Steele Bayou Sump near the Muddy Bayou Control Structure, have surpassed historic levels.
The Vicksburg District will continue to collaborate with its federal, state and local partners to monitor flooding throughout the region. Representatives from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Warren County Emergency Management, Warren County Sheriff’s Office and the Mississippi Levee Board are scheduled to participate in the public meeting March 22.
Please note that attendees will need photo identification, such as a driver’s license, in order to enter the government facility. Additionally, attendees will be subject to search by security and are encouraged to limit the amount of bags or parcels they bring to the meeting. The public meeting will be streamed live on the Vicksburg District’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VicksburgUSACE
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