Vicksburg District announces Grenada Lake to enter spillway within week

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District notified local authorities and emergency management personnel April 20 that flows from Grenada Lake, located near Interstate 55 in north Mississippi, are forecasted to enter the project’s spillway within the week.

Grenada Lake is one of four flood control reservoirs in Mississippi maintained and operated by the Vicksburg District. The district’s four flood control reservoirs in Mississippi – Arkabutla, Enid, Grenada and Sardis lakes – are used to hold runoff, or excess rainwater, as a flood-prevention measure.

Rainfall over the northern portion of the state of Mississippi impacted the elevations at the reservoirs.

The reservoir of Grenada Lake Dam is currently at an elevation of 230.5 feet. The project’s spillway is at an elevation of 231 feet. The reservoir is expected to rise to an elevation between 231.5 and 232 feet by April 24. This prediction is based on recent rainfall and the most recent seven-day forecast provided by the National Weather Service.

Any reservoir elevations above the spillway crest will pass through the project’s spillway until the reservoir pool drops below the spillway crest. Effects downstream are expected to be relatively minor, but this prediction could change based on future rainfall.

The Vicksburg District will continue to monitor water elevations throughout the region and will provide updates as more information is available. Citizens are encouraged to contact local authorities and management officials for updates about conditions in their area and should avoid activities on or near flood control works.

The last time that flows from Grenada Lake entered the project’s spillway was May 2019.

The four Mississippi reservoirs were authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936, which provided a plan designed to address flooding that originated in the Yazoo Basin. The plan included a combination of lakes supplemented by levees and drainage works in the Delta area. During significant rainfall events in the basin, USACE uses the lakes to hold back water from further contributing to flows downstream in the basin. When downstream stages are low enough to permit, additional water is released from the lakes to assure as much storage in the lakes as possible for the control of subsequent floods.

The Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. 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 Mississippi River levees. The district is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.