Choctaw County Multi-Purpose Surface Water Impoundment Feasibility Study

Among the goals and objectives established early in the study was to ensure full public participation and awareness in the study and to receive public comments and concerns throughout the study. To that end, a series of public meetings to discuss the process and reveal findings have been held. The media in Choctaw County has been briefed and a series of Decision Support Laboratory sessions conducted by the Social Science Research Center conducted in August. Efforts are currently underway to conduct a more extensive county-wide survey to attempt to identify heretofore unidentified issues and concerns of the citizens throughout the county.

Initially, the records residing at the field office of the NRCS in Ridgeland, Mississippi were collected by Pickering and thoroughly reviewed. Three (3) major geohydrologic watersheds were identified in the county and a number of sub watersheds identified. The major watersheds include the Big Black River Watershed, the Tennessee- Tombigbee River Watershed and the Pearl River Watershed. Initially, a total of six (6) purposes to be served by the surface water impoundment were defined. They were presented to the Board of Supervisors and were ultimately ranked by the members of the Board as follows:

1. Serve as a high-quality surface water supply for the citizens of Choctaw County

2. Serve as a source of water for fire protection

3. Serve as an authority-owned and operated recreational facility

4. Serve as high quality source of water to promote economic development opportunities

5. Provide water for the tenants of the Red Hills EcoPlex

6. Serve as a source of make-up water for electric generating stations in the county.

Another consideration presented to the Board, flood control, was not among the criteria ranked by the Board of Supervisors.

The ranking of the potential uses by the Board of Supervisors provided Pickering with very valuable information on the physical location of the areas to be identified for further evaluation. It also allowed for Pickering to streamline the site screening criteria an develop a screening matrix for ranking the sites identified for further evaluation.

Due the limitations on funding and the delay in receiving the contract created by the events of September 11, 2001, the studies have progressed only to the point of identifying relatively large areas for further evaluation. The areas that have passed the initial screening and remain under consideration include the area around the existing Choctaw Lake; an area to the west, northwest of Ackerman along Besa Chitto Creek; and an area to the south of the Natchez Trace on McCurtain Creek.

Each of the areas is in a different watershed. All three of the areas are relatively close to the bulk of the population in the county and all of the areas have both positive and negative features based primarily on socio-economic and institutional considerations. Geohydrologic and environmental field investigations have not commenced due to financial limitations. Some of those studies will be performed as a preliminary part of an Environmental Impact Statement that will be required by the terms of the National Environmental Protection Act.

The NEPA EIS will be required since the studies are being funded by an agency of the Federal Government. It is anticipated that only one of the areas will remain under consideration when it becomes time to conduct the EIS studies.

Contacts:

Don Threadgill, Chancery Clerk
(662) 285-6329

Alan Bates, Director of Eco. Dev.
(662) 285-3778