Newsletter 2011_3

Bridge, Phillips, Elam Drainage District News From the desk of Milton Sandy Jr

May 2, 2011

Vol 2011-3

This newsletter is directed to friends and supporters of our efforts to get something done about the repetitive flooding in Corinth and Alcorn County which on May 2, 2010, caused loss of life, public and private property and threatened public health and safety by the massive release of raw sewage into flood waters. If you have news, questions or comments, please fire away.

Local Drainage History

Family photo courtesy of Mr. Mark Winters After last newsletter's story about Ms. Allie Winters, her father Mark Winters contacted me and shared some of his family photos which depict the machine which his grand-father and Allie's great-grandfather, Edgar “Dutch” Winters (1890-1969), worked on while building the canals in Alcorn County. Mark shared stories about his father, Bedford Winters, and his grandfather. What I also discovered is that my fellow commissioner, John Warren Henson, remembered “Dutch” Winters well and told me how “Dutch” died at age 79 in an accident involving dynamite and loading gravel at Michie, Tennessee. This monster of a machine shown above was called a “Dipper

Contact: Milton Sandy Jr 662-286-6087 - Fax 287-4187 - E-mail mlsandy@tsixroads.com

Dredge� and was likely operated 7 days a week, in two 11 hour shifts a day by two crews of 5 men along with a foreman and cooks and housekeepers for the living quarters which floated like a houseboat behind the dredge.

One year anniversary When Jeb Johnston with the Daily Corinthian contacted me and reminded me of the upcoming anniversary of our May 2, 2010 flood, it got me thinking about what I've learned in the past year. I know I've spent a lot of time on flooding but I really had to concentrate to see if I could summarize what I've learned.

First of all, I have come to believe that what we really have is a drainage problem. The flooding is what has resulted from this problem but the cause is the lack of comprehensive planning for our drainage needs and the neglect of maintenance of these 100 year old man-made flood control channels which drain the City of Corinth. While looking at pictures from the flood of 2010 the other day, I was struck by the irony that most of the pictures were of identical sites that are contained in a 1972 information brochure for the City of Corinth prepared by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. You would think that after 40 years, our city leaders could have solved the problem so these flooding scenes wouldn't be reoccurring and getting worse and more frequent.

We had a very, very close call Wednesday, April 27 th, 2011. I hope everyone recognizes that we could have had just as devastating loss as a year ago because the ground is now so saturated with water. We are just now entering May which my analysis based on past history shows is one of our very highest risk months for flooding. When I checked the weather statistics, it appears that this Wednesday's rain as measured by Mike Baird's Corinth Weather station at 4.87� was the largest daily rainfall event for April in 110 years.

Second, I have learned that the long term plan we developed, really probably is going to be long-term. This is particularly frustrating since in the past year, we effectively demonstrated that the technology exists to fix some of our problems quickly, we just haven't been able to locate the money resources. We learned to speak the language to properly describe our problems, now we have to continue pursuing the resources to fix those problems. These are our plans and objectives: •

Combine the 3 historic drainage districts into one consolidated drainage district.

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With the support of the City of Corinth and proper engineering proof, petition the court to annex all property draining into these canals within the city of Corinth. With a potential drainage tax base covering the entire City of Corinth, the consolidated drainage district can demonstrate financial ability to seek grants, loans and provide for future maintenance of improvements.

Finalize an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Corinth to cooperate on drainage issues within the entire city of Corinth. Our drainage district attorney Chad Borden is working on this with Bill Davis, attorney for the City of Corinth.

Seek assistance in the form of grants and loans to clean up historic flood control channels and develop a maintenance capability to mitigate future flooding as well as plan for future enhancements.

Develop green infrastructure initiatives that may have beneficial effects for storm water management as well as potential environmental and economic benefits.

Third, as I said last year it is not a question of “if” we are going to have another flood, the only question is when? Our vivid reminder the other day highlights what is going to happen regularly if we don't find a solution to these drainage problems.

Until we have some satisfactory progress, I highly recommend flood insurance for every property owner in Corinth and Alcorn County. Flood insurance is available anywhere in the City of Corinth and Alcorn County because of our membership in the National Flood Insurance program, even if your property is not within a designated 100 year flood plain area. Almost one third of all flood insurance losses occur outside flood plain areas. In spite of some public officials attempts to characterize recent rainfall events as “1,000 year floods”, I believe that we haven't yet really seen “off-the-charts” rainfall events that may occur here in the future. Until drainage improvements are in place, I believe everyone in this community needs flood insurance. Visit the National Flood Insurance Website, http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/ or contact your insurance agent for more information. I ask everyone to encourage our local government officials to join the Community Rating System (CRS) which will further benefit everyone by reducing the cost of flood insurance to property owners.

I want to thank everyone who has offered encouragement and support over the past year. I particularly want to thank my friends and fellow commissioners Hull Davis and John Warren Henson. My wife, Stephanie, has provided incredible support and research efforts, for which I am most grateful. Over 350 friends and supporters now receive our newsletter and the feedback, ideas and suggestions have been a constant inspiration.

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In the News One of our favorite people was in the news recently. Mrs. Sandy Coleman Mitchell was awarded Outstanding District Employee of the Year for 2010 by the Mississippi Association of Conservation Districts at their annual meeting in Jackson. Sandy works for the Alcorn County Soil and Water Conservation District in partners with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. From the very first day I started working on flooding in Corinth and Alcorn County, Sandy was there providing support and encouragement.

We already knew she was an outstanding employee here in Alcorn County before anyone ever gave her an award. Our hats are off to Sandy and for her outstanding recognition now throughout the state of Mississippi.

Coming up Driving back from a Sunday afternoon drive to Kossuth to see how the Hatchie River drainage was looking, we couldn't help but notice it appears the river Gage station has been reinstalled on the Tuscumbia River bridge South side of Hwy 72. Our hats are off to the Memphis office of the USA Corps of Engineers. Soon we may have river Gage data available online to help us analyze our weather and flooding data here in Alcorn County.

Also on Sunday, we discovered an incredible selection of some of the healthiest tomato plants we've seen for a while driving back through Goose Pond also on Hwy 72 on Sunday. You turn north at Goose Pond at the sign on CR 744 and its about a mile off the Highway near the Bethlehem community. A large greenhouse bursting with plants is owned by Shane & Becky Spencer who have been growing and selling plants for around 3 years now. Becky must have a very green thumb or else the altitude out there must be very good for her plants. Her prices were very reasonable as well so you might check it out if you are in the neighborhood.

We hope everyone will be alert this month to the dangers of flooding. As the amount of flood debris shown below illustrates, we need to pay particular attention to tanks, pallets, dumpsters- anything which will float and is stored in a flood plain. Flood waters will move some incredibly large objects and cause everyone worse flood problems when they obstruct drainage.

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View South from Harper Overpass towards Sewer Plant. Will Asplundh ever finish what they started?

Flood debris from April 28, 2011 again needs cleaning behind the KCS Railroad Underpass

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