If you have comments and/or questions related to Vicksburg District’s Section 508 program or if you have concerns related to the Section 508 ICT accessibility of any content or the user interface on this website, please send an e-mail to VicksburgDistrict@USACE.Army.mil. Where applicable, please include in your e-mail the web address or URL and the specific accessibility barrier(s) you are encountering.

Steele Bayou Gates Will Close Due to High Water Levels

Published June 7, 2013
The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana that holds seven major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline levees. The district is engaged in hundreds of projects and supports disaster response in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana that holds seven major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline levees. The district is engaged in hundreds of projects and supports disaster response in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

Vicksburg, Miss –The Vicksburg District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will close the gates of the Steele Bayou Flood Control Structure due to higher water levels on the Mississippi and the Yazoo rivers. The projection date of the closure is tomorrow, 8 June 2013.

 

On 29 May 2013, the gates were opened to release water, decreasing water levels, and make farmlands accessible in the lower delta. Due to this gate opening, approximately 120 thousand acres of land were uncovered. The amount of days that the gates will remain closed is based on water levels on the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers.

 

Presently, (Friday 7 June) the Mississippi River is approximately 37.8 feet at Vicksburg. The National Weather Service has estimated that the Mississippi River will crest at approximately 41 feet at Vicksburg on or about 17 June 2013.

 

The Corps will reevaluate water levels in the Yazoo Backwater area to determine the best date to re-open the gates. With no additional rainfall in the back water area, it is expected that the gates will remain closed for approximately 2 to 3 weeks. 

 

The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana that holds seven major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline levees. The primary mission of Vicksburg District’s four Mississippi lakes, backwater levees and structures is flood damage risk reduction.   Since its inception, the Mississippi River and Tributaries flood risk reduction projects have cumulatively prevented approximately $ 612 billion of flood damage. For more information visit our website, www.mvk.usace.army.mil.


Contact
Kavanaugh Breazeale
601-631-5052
kavanaugh.breazeale@usace.army.mil

Release no. 13-059