If you’re headed out to the Barnett Reservoir and plan to take a picnic to one of the parks or refreshments for a boat trip, keep in mind that glass beverage containers are prohibited.
Leave beer bottles and wine bottles at home. Opt for beer cans and, if you choose wine, decant it in a container that is not made of glass.
The no glass beverage container rule applies to boaters on the 33,000-acre lake and anyone using the Rez’s five campgrounds, 16 parks, 22 boat launches, fishing piers or 23 miles of trails.
The prohibition of glass beverage containers is nothing new, but some individuals choose to overlook it who fail to respect public property, said John Sigman, general manager of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District.
“Their attitude is that’s OK, but it doesn’t apply to me,” he said.
Signs are posted at the boat ramps about the no glass bottles rule and the prohibition is outlined in the regulations listed on the reservoir’s website.
The regulations of the reservoir put it like this: “It shall be unlawful for any Person to possess, put, throw, dump or leave on any portion of the Reservoir Project Area inundated by water, or within any public park, public boat ramp or public recreational area, any glass beverage container to include but not limited to beer, wine, spirits, sports drink, soda, etc.”
The prohibition against glass containers is a safety issue.
“We have lots of areas where boats congregate and the water is shallow and people walk and swim,” he said. “If they hit a bottle fragment, they can cut their feet,” Sigman said.
Jackie Alexander of Ridgeland, who owns a houseboat docked at the Rez, said the no glass regulation makes sense when it comes to ensuring the wellbeing of individuals who wade in shallow water to cool off or push a boat off.
She’s on board with the no glass ban.
“That’s an easy thing not to do,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to get a ticket for that.”
Should a Reservoir Police officer see someone with a glass bottle, the officer provides a reminder about the regulation, Sigman said.
A reservoir police officer does have the authority to issue a ticket, which would be assigned to Justice Court in either Rankin, Madison or Leake County, depending upon where the infraction occurs, he said. A Justice Court judge would determine the consequences, he said.
The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District receive no money from tickets a Reservoir Police officer issues, regardless of the type of ticket, Sigman said.
Regulations also call for users of the Rez to have a trash container marked “trash” for their garbage and to dispose of it at a designated site onshore, Sigman said. A trash container doesn’t have to be anything fancy but can be something as simple as a garbage bag with the word “trash” printed on it with a marker.
The regulations put it like this: “It shall be unlawful for any Person, firm or corporation to deposit, dump, leave or abandon any waste, rubbish, garbage or other property (including but not limited to cans, bottles, jars, glass, paper, plastic, styrofoam, 29 wood, metal, steel reinforcement bars (rebar), rubber or other natural or synthetic material) in or upon any of the public parks, public recreation areas, public boat ramps, public buildings and grounds, or public streets and rights of way within the Reservoir Project Area, or within sixty feet of any such property, or in or upon any dike, levee, groin, jetty or mole appurtenant to the waters within the Reservoir Project Area, or in or upon any waters within the Reservoir Project Area, or in or upon any parking area for motor vehicles maintained for patrons of commercial or recreational establishments on premises held under lease from the District. Furthermore, any person, firm, or corporation fishing from the shore or bank of the Main Lake or any dyke, levy, groin, jetty or mole appurtenant to the waters within the Reservoir Project Area, or in or upon any waters within the Reservoir Project Area shall have in its possession a container marked “Trash” with stencil or other clear markings for the disposal of garbage or refuse and shall dispose of any garbage or refuse at designated disposal sites provided onshore.”
The day after the Fourth of July will likely mean more clean up than usual, Sigman said.
“Years ago, you could go to Flag Island after the Fourth of July and you couldn’t see the island,” he said for all the beer cans left behind. That situation seems to have gotten better, he said.
Once a year, college students from the metro area, kayak groups and other volunteers pick up trash at various sites at the reservoir (a 33,000-acre impoundment of the Pearl River) as part of the Pearl Riverkeeper’s Clean Sweep event that includes the entire Pearl River basin. The event is scheduled on the third Saturday of September to coincide with the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup.
Since the Clean Sweep event began in 2017, volunteers have removed abut 173,000 pounds of trash as part of the event.
Last year, 403 volunteers picked up a total of 12,700 pounds of trash at numerous sites that included these at the reservoir: Ratliff Ferry, Old Trace Park, Pelahatchie Shore Park, Rankin Landing and the Spillway Dam. In 2022, 445 volunteers picked up a total of 12,614 pounds of trash.
It’s easy to blame fishermen along the Pearl River for the trash, but that’s not entirely the case. Some of the trash collected during the cleanup event is litter that ends up in storm drains, runs into creeks and then ends up in the river, said Abby Braman, executive director of Pearl Riverkeeper.
