The first rule of plumbing is as simple as it is utterly unimpeachable: Water flows downhill. There are no exceptions, and if you understand that basic principle you’re on your way to fixing some pipes or water leaks.
But it seems the engineers employed in developing a 1,394-page study about the economic and environmental impacts of creating another lake on the Pearl River near Jackson forgot that concept.
That’s because that massive study says absolutely nothing about what effects building a dam would have on downstream communities south of the metro area. Several of them like Columbia are concerned that it could further reduce waterflow in the Pearl, causing havoc on both recreational and industrial activity tied to the river.
Yet this study, which has dragged on for years at untold thousands of dollars, doesn’t make the smallest mention of anything outside of Rankin County. Did its sponsors from the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District forget that water flows downhill?
Of course not. What they did do, though, was purposely aim their study so it would justify what they wanted: A Jackson lakefront to sell expensive property around to build homes and shops. It’s ridiculous that they had to go to the lengths they went to with that study to support that foregone conclusion, but that’s how our federal government operates. Everything requires lengthy justification on paper even if the decision has already been made.
The state’s wealthiest businessmen are behind the “One Lake” project and have an inside track to making it happen, including strong congressional support; communities downstream are already behind, but that doesn’t mean they should give up the fight.
No doubt “One Lake” is a good thing for Jackson’s struggling economy. And that’s important for all of Mississippi considering it is our only metro area, and the places that are thriving in this country right now are big cities. If Jackson can’t get its act together, all of Mississippi is going to struggle to attract young people and industry.
I get that, but that doesn’t mean policymakers should ignore the legitimate effects of creating another lake on the Pearl River on people downstream whose quality of life is tied to its waters.
Monticello Mayor Martha Watts, whose town is heavily dependent on a Georgia-Pacific plant on the Pearl, told Columbia aldermen that a “One Lake” official told her she needed to do her own study if she wanted to know how it would effect her. It’s unlikely that Monticello or any of the rural towns in the drainage basin of Mississippi and Louisiana have enough resources for that, but they can make their voices heard. That can be both to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has opened the issue up for public comment, and to Mississippi’s congressional leadership.
Those groups need to commission a neutral study that includes the costs to communities downstream.
If they won’t do that, the courts also remain open to provide equity for the little guy. Expect a coalition of environmental groups and downstream cities and counties to take this issue there before it’s all settled.
Charlie Smith is editor and publisher of The Columbian-Progress. He may be reached at csmith@columbianprogress.com or (601) 736-2611. You can also write him at P.O. Box 1171, Columbia, MS 39429.
