Infrastructure issues were addressed Thursday afternoon by Greenville Mayor Errick D. Simmons at a media conference held at Goodrich and Caroline streets.
Simmons said the city has spent $15.6 million over the last three years on infrastructure.
“We have an ecological issue behind us called the Mississippi River,” Simmons said. “It is a tremendous asset — a national lynch pin for Gross Domestic Product — but is gives us problems, as well as other similar cities situated near the river.”
Simmons said the city received a noticed from the Mississippi Levee Board which results in a significant delay in making many infrastructure repairs.
“We can’t do any digging at this time,” Simmons said, noting until the river falls to 43 feet the city is not permitted to dig.
“The river stage is around 54 feet now,” Simmons said. “We have had the longest running period above the river stage — over a 100 days right now.”
The river has been above 43 feet since January.
“We have sewer pumps that are 10 and 15 feet below the ground,” Simmons said. “If the river is up, we have water covering the pumps. When the pump fails, then the streets begin to fall, and that presents major issues.”
Simmons said plans for many projects are underway, but the project locations are underwater.
“We have a problem we can’t control — thats the river,” Simmons said. “Once the river goes down, we will be gin to make those repairs and fix those streets and things.”
Simmons said Greenville is among many cities experiencing issues as a result of the Mississippi River.
“I spoke with our neighbors on the river to the north in Davenport, Ohio,” Simmons said. “They have had three breeches where the wall has come down and water is getting into their communities.
“Our levees have not been breached,” he continued. “The pumps are working and the water has moved out of our city.”
Despite water receding from the city, the effect of heavy rains and high water levels has been detrimental.
Simmons said Greenville is expected to remain above flood stage for most of June. “We cannot make necessary repairs as city crews are hitting water after only digging 3 feet,” he said. “Grounds are completely saturated and collection pipes are covered with water.”
“We want our residents to know that we hear their concerns, loud and clear,” Simmons said. “Please be patient as we all are waiting for the water table to go down to begin necessary infrastructure repairs.”
Residents are encouraged to report issues to the city’s action line at 662-378-1534.
