- A new generation of leaders in Jackson is asking—and attempting to answer—the question, “What if we saw the Pearl River as an asset rather than a liability?”
The Pearl River is vital to Mississippi’s natural and economic landscape. Originating in Neshoba County and flowing down to the Gulf of Mexico, the Pearl helps to define the ecology of Central and South Mississippi.
The river and its watershed are home to characteristic Mississippi species like Gulf sturgeon, black bears, and even some species of special concern, such as the Pearl River map turtle.
The location for a new state capital, Jackson, was selected in 1821 due, in part, to its proximity to a navigable river. Yet for most of its existence—besides utilizing it for drinking water—the city of Jackson has virtually turned its back on the Pearl, regarding it as an optional accessory at best and a nuisance at worst.
A River Runs Through It—But It Barely Matters
A post-WWII population boom in Jackson and mounting pollution in the Pearl prompted local leaders to explore alternatives for the city’s drinking water needs. Though, as Jesse Yancy helpfully points out, discussions about these solutions began as early as 1926. The conversation began in earnest when the State Legislature created the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District (PRVWSD) in 1958 to oversee the construction and management of a reservoir on the Pearl. The reservoir would be completed in 1965 and named for Governor Ross Barnett.
“The Rez” remains an important economic and recreational resource. Unfortunately, its utility remains rather limited to just that: drinking water and recreation. It was never designed primarily for flood control.
Consequently, the reservoir has been unable to prevent several major flood events since its construction. Many Jacksonians still remember the Easter flood of 1979, when the Pearl crested at over 43 feet, causing the modern-day equivalent of over $1 billion in damages.
More recently, in 2022, heavy late-summer rains caused the Pearl River to surpass flood stage at almost 36 feet. Its incursion into the city’s O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant caused a critical failure of the facility’s pumps and an inability to move clean water throughout the city. These and several subsequent difficulties made national headlines as a Jackson “water crisis.”
The events of 2022 prompted a renewal of local conversations related to the Pearl River, the city of Jackson, flood control, and recreation. A new generation of leaders in Jackson is asking—and attempting to answer—one question in particular: What if we saw the Pearl River as an asset rather than a liability?
From Afterthought to Opportunity: The Path Forward
Hundreds of millions of federal dollars have been allocated to address Jackson’s water infrastructure issues, including over $220 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The corps’s Alternative D Solution was published earlier this year in the Pearl River Environmental Impact Statement report. Among other projects, it proposes widening the river in and near Jackson and constructing a new weir downriver in place of the existing weir, which is nearly 100 years old.
In August 2024, exactly two years after the 2022 water crisis, a group of civic, nonprofit, educational, and private sector organizations spearheaded by the Great City Mississippi Foundation came together to announce a new effort called the Pearl River Revitalization Coalition (PRRC).
The PRRC was formed in support of the Alternative D Plan to “combat flooding, improve infrastructure,” and—perhaps most importantly—to “connect the city to the Pearl River.” With 23 miles of the Pearl running through Jackson, the only official entry point in the city is at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, which requires an entry fee. Besides flood control, the coalition is aiming to support projects that will improve public access to the river and help to make it a part of the city’s collective identity. According to the coalition’s Facebook page, it is one of the first plans in Jackson’s history to propose connecting the city to the river via a network of greenspaces, parks, and trails.
Emily Hoff serves as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Children’s Museum, which is located on the grounds of LeFleur’s Bluff State Park near the Pearl River. She is also a Great City Mississippi Foundation board member.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help revitalize and improve the lives of every citizen in Jackson,” she said in August. “This project… connects Jackson back to the Pearl River and makes it not only safe and sustainable, but ultimately a beautiful gathering place for our community with the potential for riverfront parks and trails that we can all enjoy.”
What if one of the first things that came to mind about Jackson was a dynamic, symbiotic relationship with its river? What comes to mind for most people—indeed, even many Mississippians—when they think of Jackson has little to do with the Pearl. Some may think of the city’s water woes or other infrastructure issues. Others may focus on the various political hot topics that tend to dominate local headlines. Jackson has now been presented with an opportunity to put these worn-out paradigms to rest, to rediscover and embrace the Pearl River as a natural, recreational, and economic lifeline.
