OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – A drainage project in Clayton Village is set to move forward after a two-year delay, while residents along Tobacco Juice Creek remain plagued by flooding as county officials seek property access necessary to begin work.
Monika Perry, who lives on a private driveway off Old Highway 25, told supervisors Monday that flooding from Tobacco Juice Creek makes it nearly impossible to leave her home after heavy rain.
“Our road is flooded out every time we have significant rainfall and because of that 911 services aren’t going to come to us, we can’t get a school bus in there or anything,” she said. “… It is significant. I literally need a canoe to get out of the yard when it rains.”
Supervisors approved a drainage improvement project in February 2024 along the creek with Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District agreeing to complete the work through its Small Project Authorization Program. The county contracts with the water management district to manage waterflow and execute drainage projects, paying it about $142,600 annually under the agreement.
However, obtaining a temporary easement for one tract needed for the project, which would give TRVWMD access to the properties where work is required, have kept it from progressing.
“Sometimes the property owners, some of them are a little concerned about how it’s going to impact their property,” District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “Some of them have skepticism about just dealing with the government anyway, and then some of them don’t live on that property, so they’re trying to figure out how it’s going to benefit them.”
The Tobacco Juice Creek project, which has an estimated price tag of about $51,700, would remove blockages caused by a “beaver slough” along a nearly 400-yard drainage ditch off Old Highway 25 near Williams Road, said Richard Herring, project manager for the water management district.
The obstructions have contributed to severe flooding in Perry’s yard and nearby properties. Upstream, standing water has also pooled behind homes, killing timber in wooded areas.
The county has acquired all but one easement for the project, which Herring said is critical to the project’s success.
District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams, whose district includes the project area, suggested moving forward without that property.
“If we can make it that far, that might not be a perfect situation, but it would be a good situation to move some of that water on down south,” Williams told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “… We’ve got to continue to think about the greater good of those individuals who are constantly being flooded out.”
However, Herring cautioned that leaving out that tract, where beaver activity has caused a significant portion of the problem, could make the project pointless.
“In this situation, because that tract of land is part of the main problem, it would not make any sense to do the project without having access to clean out that piece of property,” Herring said. “… I would be hesitant to invest county and state funds to do that work with a strong feeling that it’s not going to be effective. When you’re dealing with tax dollars, you really want to try to make sure you get a good value for what you’re doing. You don’t waste money, and if you don’t think it’s going to work, it would be really inappropriate to try to do it.”
Board Attorney Rob Roberson said the county is continuing discussions with the out-of-area property owner to address concerns.
“The landowner has questions about debris left on her property after the cleanup,” Roberson told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “The county has no legal right to remove or burn property belonging to said owner of the property. … So we’re in this situation where the owner of the property has to understand that our hands are tied to a degree.”
If access is granted, work could begin as soon as July and would take about two weeks to complete.
Clayton Village
Meanwhile, supervisors on Monday approved all five temporary easements needed for the estimated $21,600 Clayton Village Cleanout Project in District 2.
That project will allow crews to clear a 200-yard drainage ditch near Boyd Road and First John Missionary Baptist Church, where flooding frequently affects the roadway and church grounds during heavy rain, Herring said.
That work is expected to begin this summer and will take about a week to complete.
Trainer said both projects are important to improve drainage countywide.
“It has the potential to impact anybody across the county,” Trainer said. “Drainage is something people don’t get concerned about until stuff starts backing up. … But when we get a lot of water in a short period of time, that’s when drainage really becomes … a challenge. … You need to make sure everything is clear from one end to the other. So those projects are critical.”
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