The Carroll County Board of Supervisors spent much of Friday’s meeting listening to concerns about the watershed lakes in the county, most notably the Big Sand Drainage District’s Walker and Bailey lakes.
Among those attending the meeting were Big Sand district board members Harry Lott, Clint White and chairman Charles Montgomery Jr., as well as attorney Tom Flanagan.
Montgomery presented a number of documents, including copies of letters from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to the district and one from the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Tupelo to NRCS conservationist Kent Blaine concerning inspections of Walker Lake.
According to Montgomery, the Big Sand Drainage District has an annual budget of around $14,000 obtained from taxes levied on landowners. Roughly half goes to administrative costs. Funding for obtaining rights of way and for repair and maintenance of dams is shared with 90 percent at the federal level and 10 percent locally. A government entity must agree to sponsor and see to the annual repair and maintenance.
The Big Sand district is composed of 12,700 acres in Leflore County and 15,400 in Carroll County. The four watershed districts in Carroll County include over 75,000 acres with 35,718 behind dams, and there are 14 dams in the Big Sand district.
Most of the dams were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Each was given a rating based on the possibility of flooding downstream. They were designed with an expected lifespan of 50 years with regular maintenance sponsored by a government entity and yearly inspections. Funding comes from tax levies on acreage in each drainage district.
Walker Lake was originally designated a “low hazard” lake but is now rated “high hazard.” It is northeast of the Carrollton-North Carrollton area off County Road 77. Over the years a number of houses have been built around and downstream from the dam.
An MDEQ letter to Montgomery dated Oct. 22, 2015, cites major deficiencies that could lead to failure of the dam. The riser structure has been modified to maintain a higher normal water level than the original design; the emergency spillway has been filled in to accommodate a county road; and there is significant seepage near the west end of the dam.
The letter directs the Big Sand district to drain the lake and keep it drained until the dam has been upgraded. A separate letter was sent to the county supervisors requesting that they restore the emergency spillway.
The Big Sand district was advised to update the MDEQ regularly on the progress being made to drain the lake. The lake has yet to be drained, and the emergency spillway has not been repaired.
Bailey Lake or Meadows Lake, depending on which side one is standing on, is off U.S. 82 to the southeast of the Carrollton area.
Houses have also been built below the dam. No major structural deficiencies have been noted.
Blaine stated that the NRCS has set aside money for Bailey Lake upgrades. If it is not used, it will go to another drainage district, and Petacocowa, Abiaca and Abotcaputa are ready and willing to sign, he said.
Bailey Lake area resident Renee Howard said that there is significant erosion around the spillway and asked, “Who knows what will happen 25 years or so down the road?”
She urged the board not to let the money disappear because “they may not offer it again.” Howard’s son is currently building a new house below the dam.
Dusty Myers of the MDEQ was asked whether Marshall Elementary School was in danger of flooding in the case of a catastrophic breach of Walker Lake. He said no.
County supervisors — facing budget cuts from the state, mounting costs for infrastructure repair and other expenses — do not want to commit to signing an agreement. Big Sand, with its low budget, can see no possible way to sign an agreement.
The supervisors will review and discuss options until the next meeting.
Also Friday, the board:
nApproved funding for emergency project repairs on CR 282 in Beat 1. The estimated cost of $65,000 will be paid using 10 percent or $6,500 from Supervisor Neill’s bridge fund and the remainder from the county road fund with the chance of 100 percent reimbursement from federal emergency funds.
nApproved funding for a bridge project on CR 61 in Beat 5.
nAproved the cost of $4,931 for a pipe to replace a bridge on CR 186 in Beat 3.
nApproved a $1,000 right-of-way purchase for Joyce and Jerry Windham and $500 each to Jessie Stewart and Dave Bennet for right-of-way purchases and to Ray Welch for up to $1,500 for replacement cost of a fence and labor.
nSpread upon the minutes, effective Monday, a salary increase to $15 per hour for deputies David Mims, Kris King, Jamie Taylor and Johnny Marlow.
The board will next meet at 9 a.m. May 31 in the boardroom at the Carrollton Courthouse.
