Downstream communities and industries that depend on the Pearl River will pay the price if One Lake moves forward. The project would expose toxic pollution, threaten the integrity of municipal infrastructure, like bridges and drinking water supplies, and interfere with permitted businesses already working on the river.
Martha Watts, Mayor of Monticello, Mississippi
Most endangered rivers
Threat: Dredging & Dam Construction
The Pearl River is one of the most biodiverse rivers in the U.S. and the primary drinking water source for Jackson, Mississippi. But this natural treasure is threatened by a devastating private real estate development scheme masquerading as a flood control project. This “One Lake” project would dredge and dam the Pearl River to create new waterfront property, destroying vital fish and wildlife habitat, worsening Jackson’s flooding and drinking water crisis, increasing toxic contamination, and reducing freshwater flows critical to the region’s important seafood and tourism economies. The Biden administration must stop this project and invest in environmentally-sustainable flood relief for the predominantly Black community of Jackson while protecting the Pearl River and all the communities and economies that rely on it.
American Rivers appreciates the collaboration and efforts of our partners:
- Healthy Gulf
- Lawrence County Board of Supervisors
- Louisiana Wildlife Federation
- Town of Monticello
- Audubon Delta
- Sierra Club
- Orleans Audubon Society
- Pearl Riverkeeper
- National Wildlife Federation