Heavy rain events occurred in late November and December,
2001 throughout the Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys that
resulted in above normal stages on the Mississippi River.
Although these stages were not high enough to cause any
inconvenience, a great deal of storage throughout the entire
basin was utilized taking us into 2002 with the River posed
for serious flooding.
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| Flood
Against the Levee in Greenville
|
As rains continued in the Ohio, Tennessee and Arkansas
Valleys, Mississippi experienced a high water event in late
May and early June that required the initiation of a Phase
I flood fight. The following crests for this event were
high enough to cause minor seepage problems that required
action by our crew.
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|
Sand
Boil in Black Bayou
|
Members of the Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers, the
Misissippi Levee Board staff and individuals from the Yazoo-Mississippi
Delta Joint Water Management District met at the Levee Board
on May 22nd to organize the Phase I activities. Daily levee
patrols were initiated May 23rd and continued throughout
our entire levee system until May 31st. At that time, the
daily patrols were discontinued in Bolivar and Washington
County but continued until June 3rd south of the Washington/Issaquena
County line.
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| Sandbagging
Efforts
|
Many areas along our levee system were monitored for seepage
and sand boils, but only two areas required action by our
crews. Sand boils in a ditch parallel to the levee north
of Greenville were reported by the Black Bayou Drainage
District who had a crew working in the area. Upon inspection,
we found several boils in Black Bayou where it parallels
the levee north of Upper Lake Ferguson Road. Our crews constructed
a sandbag weir in the ditch to elevate water over the sand
boils to prevent the movement of material throughout the
highwater event. We are making plans to construct access
to this area so it can be routinely monitored during future
high water events.
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| Completed
Sandbag Weir in Black Bayou
|
Sand boils were also discovered in an area at Buck Chute
near Eagle Lake in Warren County. These boils ocurred even
after the installation of six relief wells following the
1997 high water event. The Vicksburg District is initiating
studies and plan to install additional features in an effort
to eliminate the need for sandbagging in this area on future
high water events.
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