The Yazoo Backwater Area (YBW) project is in west-central Mississippi, immediately north of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The YBW is bounded on the west by the left descending bank of the Mississippi River Levee, the Yazoo Basin escarpment on the east, and the Yazoo River on the south. The area contains approximately 1,074,000 acres and has historically been subject to flooding from backwater by the Mississippi River, as well as headwater flooding from the Yazoo River, Sunflower River, and Steele Bayou.
The project has four major features:
- The Yazoo Backwater Area levee
- The associated water control structures (Steele and Muddy Bayou Structures)
- The connecting channel, (all were constructed by 1978)
- The Yazoo Backwater Area pumping plant (unconstructed).