Many of you already know I’m not from here: I’m not from Columbia, not from Mississippi and not even from the South.
Growing up in a military family, I moved around a lot when I was young and called Pennsylvania, Virginia and Louisiana home at one point or another, and it wasn’t until college that I moved to Mississippi.
I spent this past weekend with my dad, Michael, driving my nieces, Madison and Alayah, back to Jonesville, Va., after they spent the past month visiting my parents’ home in Slidell, La. My nieces decided to pull an all-nighter Thursday night so they could just sleep on the road while my dad and I rotated behind the wheel. The final distance traveled one way was 701 miles, and it may come off as strange, especially in this day and age, that we never once turned on the radio on our journey into the Appalachians. Instead, we spent the entire trip just talking.
One of the subjects broached was the “One Lake” project planned in Jackson and how the 1,394-page study conducted by the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District never once mentioned what effect the lake would have on communities south of Rankin County. When I told him about it, he told me an eerily similar story about what happened in the city I was born in, Johnstown, Pa., in 1889: the “Johnstown Flood.”
While I was born in Johnstown, we moved when I was just 6 months old. So I was never exposed to the town’s history and had never learned of the catastrophic event.
A group of investors purchased an abandoned reservoir, modified it and converted it into a private resort lake, known as the South Fork Club. They hired unqualified workers to build an earthen dam, which ultimately failed its inspection due to not replacing relief pipes and valves if the water rose too high, but the investment group proceeded anyway. Eight years went by with frequent leaks that were patched with mud and straw.
Then in May 1889, a severe storm dropped nearly 10 inches of rainfall, bursting the dam and sending nearly 4 billion gallons of water 14 miles downstream to Johnstown. Attempts were made to warn the citizens, but it was too late. The entirety of Johnstown was wiped away and more than 2,200 people lost their lives that day.
To be clear, such a devastating scenario is far from the realm of possibility with the “One Lake” proposal, should it be passed. Highly-qualified architects and inspectors will likely make sure the reservoir will be more than sturdy and never break. But all of these high-ranking politicians and wealthy businessmen ready to profit on the proposed plan really should take a step back and try to comprehend what happened in the Conemaugh Valley 129 years ago.
It’s not the mass loss of life down river of the Pearl they need to be awakened to: It’s the economic and lifestyle byproducts they need to focus on. Take Monticello for example: Mayor Martha M. Watts addressed the Columbia Board of Aldermen June 19 and informed them that nearly 70 percent of the town’s population relies on the Pearl River for its jobs.
It’s not just Monticello either. Every city, town and community along the Pearl south of Jackson has economic ties to the river. Damming the river to create a lake in order to develop rich property would likely reduce water flow all the way down to where the Pearl empties: Lake Borgne. If you aren’t familiar with Lake Borgne, it is located on the southeast banks of Slidell, La., and there is a channel — Chef Menteur Pass, along with the Rigolets — that connects it to Lake Pontchartrain to the west while to the east the lake drains into the Gulf of Mexico.
We’re talking thousands upon thousands of people south of Jackson who rely on the river for its economy and way of life. From fishing and shrimping to swamp tours and industry reliant on the water power of the mighty Pearl, the region would be drastically effected. It’s not even all about the people the proposed project could effect: Think of the wildlife downstream of the Pearl that could be decimated.
What’s baffling is in the nearly 1,400-page study conducted on what the “One Lake” project would accomplish, not one mention was made of any of this.
While I may be a Yankee by birth, I have spent more than 20 years of my nearly 25 years on this earth living in the South. It is my home. I’m proud to see my hometown parish, St. Tammany, playing its role in this fight, as well as Washington Parish, Marion County, Pearl River County and potentially Hancock County. Also, I would like to send a special thanks to State Rep. Ken Morgan for his numerous attempts for ferreting out the inaccuracies in previous reports and for speaking against state funding for the lake.
While these decisions are often made outside of the public eye, the people in all of these communities need to rally together and truly let the big guns know what the ripple effect could become.
Whether it’s flooding their offices with direct, yet thoughtful and respectful, letters or protesting, they need to become more aware of what could potentially be set into motion.
Reach Sports Editor Joshua Campbell at joshuacampbell @columbianprogress.com.
