Long-awaited Pearl River flood control project moves forward

• People don’t set down roots and invest in communities where they feel that they’re at risk,” Jackson Mayor John Horhn said. Pearl Mayor Jake Windham noted that it is typically the poorest residents who are affected most by the flooding.

A project that looks to protect the City of Jackson and the surrounding area from flooding by the Pearl River is moving to the next phase. 

Elected officials and concerned residents gathered Thursday morning near the Pearl River Bridge along Highway 80 to hear from representatives of the Pearl River Revitalization Coalition. The coalition is comprised of various private and public institutions and organizations focused on flood protection in the central Mississippi region.

The group announced that Secretary Adam Telle, the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has selected a project design that will bring long-awaited flood control and community benefits to Mississippi’s Capital Region.