Tributary Basin Improvements

The Flood Control Act of 1928 authorized work that would give the various basins protection against Mississippi River floods only, although the tributary streams within the basins caused frequent flood damage that could not be prevented by the main stem Mississippi River protective works.  Later amendments to this act have authorized work that provides alleviation of the tributary flood problems.

There are four major drainage basins in the lower Mississippi River Valley Project:  St. Francis in east Arkansas; Yazoo in northwest Mississippi; Tensas in northeast Louisiana; and Atchafalaya in south Louisiana.  There are five flood control reservoirs in the tributary basin improvement plan:  Wappapello Lake in the St Francis Basin, and four lakes -- Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid, and Grenada -- in the Yazoo Basin.