Additional dredging is planned at Barnett Reservoir thanks to $1.75 million provided by the Legislature during the 2024 session.
Dredging is the process of removing sediment and other debris from the bottom of lakes, rivers, harbors and other bodies of water.
Dredging is a necessity because the natural process of sand and silt washing downstream gradually fills channels and harbors, said John Sigman, general manager of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, the state agency that operates and maintains the Barnett Reservoir and the 17,000 acres surrounding the lake.
“Sedimentation comes from all the streams that feed into the reservoir,” he said. “Construction activity feeds more.”
The boat channels and boat ramps at Pelahatchie Bay, Palisades, Arbor Landing, Overlook Pointe and North Bay and areas in between are among locations where dredging will occur, he said. “We’re going all the way up to Brown’s Landing.”
Hemphill Construction Co. has had an ongoing contract for about a year to provide dredging, and Anderson Contracting of Yazoo City was the successful bidder on the last contract, Sigman said. Anderson is “mobilizing” and should start work soon, he said.
The dredge sits on a barge with pumps and other necessary equipment. The contractor basically removes sediment from the bottom of the lake to reestablish and deepen the channels. The sediment and water that is dredged must be disposed of in contained ponds that are constructed to hold the water and the silt until the majority of the sediment drops out of the water and the water that goes back into the lake is clean.
Boaters should use caution when dredging is occurring because hitting an intake pipe that sucks up dredged material or a discharge pipe that pushes dredged material into the disposal site could damage a vessel, Sigman said.
“You’d tear up a boat if you hit one of the pipes,” he said, noting that the pipes should be marked, and signs should indicate their presence and show where crossings can safely occur.
“People should be wary and look for the signs. They need to be situationally aware.”
The Legislature allocated $2 million to the district in 2023 and another $1.7 million in 2022 that it used for dredging.
