This is the Big Sunflower River Maintenance Project Web site. This project will perform maintenance to restore design flow capacity of the Big Sunflower Project completed in the 1960’s.

The original construction work consisted of channel cleanout, clearing and snagging, and channel diversions. The maintenance work will restore the authorized flood control capacity of approximately 130 miles of the original 663 miles of channels where the capacity has diminished due to sediment accumulation since project completion. 

 The maintenance is designed to avoid and minimize adverse resource impacts. This will be accomplished primarily by hydraulic dredge and/or clearing and snagging.  These methods of maintenance minimize the impacts on bottomland hardwoods and farmed wetlands. Maintenance activities are to be accomplished by ten separate items of work. 

The first maintenance item contract, Item 3, which includes 7.2 miles of clearing and snagging on the Little Sunflower River, was completed in August 2000. 

The project was scheduled for completion in June 2008. However, the District is currently preparing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to update the environmental documentation. The draft SEIS is scheduled for release in November 2007.