Jackson Free Press

Steady rain across Middle America swamped cities and rural communities in Iowa this month. The flooding has killed more than 20 people since May, displaced more than 40,000 and caused billions in damage.

Floodwater rarely stays put forever, though. All that bulging water will slowly course down the Mississippi River like a freshly swallowed rabbit slithering down a snake's gut, no doubt causing headaches for many people down the river. The image brings to mind Jackson's own inadequate levee system.

The issue of flood control in Jackson has been raging since the Pearl River swallowed the flood plain that is Jackson and Flowood in 1979. The Army Corps of Engineers cleared swamps along the Pearl, and constructed some levees in response, but the levee system is far from complete, with unfinished holes along north Jackson and other spots. The county, city and Corps would like the job complete, but the plan has a hanger-on dragging it away from completion.

Rankin County representatives may not have the purest intentions in pushing to complete the partial levee system, but some Jackson investors and residents won't let flood control happen—come hell or high water—without new real estate as part of the deal. A "lakes" plan has been fighting for life for almost a decade, pushing the idea of dredging and damming the Pearl River and creating one or more islands within a massive lake. The new real estate, say advocates, would mean a boon for the city comparable to the development at the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

But critics complain that the plan could cost up to $3 billion, and provide incomplete flood protection. "Where does future floodwater go if a lake is already there?" they ask. Hinds County Board of Supervisors recently passed a resolution in support of Two Lakes, a $300 million development pushed by Jackson oilman John McGowan. Con Maloney, a Jackson business owner and the Hinds County representative on the Levee Board, warning that their resolution iessentially doomed flood control. He subsequently resigned from the levee board because of their decision.

Jackson developers no doubt believe they are looking out for the best interests of the city in trying to marry the lakes plan with levee construction. But "looking out for the city" may also mean it's time to move on and let the Corps build its levees—for now. It's a dangerous world we're living in. Ask an Iowan.