Jackson Jambalaya

The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District issued the following press release:

Barnett Reservoir officials on Thursday announced the closing of eight boat ramps deemed unusable due to drought-related low water conditions on the 33,000-acre lake near Jackson.
Closed are the popular ramps at Fannin Landing in Rankin County and Brown’s Landing in Madison County. Other closures include five subdivision ramps at Glen Cove, Twin Harbors, Trace View and Turtle Creek, which are also open to public use. The other ramp closed is at Timberlake Campground.

Pearl River Valley Water Supply District begins closing landings when the water at the end of the concrete ramp or access channels or basins falls below three feet.
PRVWSD officials said the lake level was 295.43 feet above sea level on Thursday, or about 2.17 feet below normal lake level. With no appreciable rain in the 10-day forecast, and with the lake dropping 3/10ths of a foot a week, the level should drop to 295 within that time period, and more ramps could be closed.

It is recommended that boaters use the three deepest ramps at the lake — Goshen Springs Landing next to Tommy’s Trading Post on Highway 43, or Madison County and Rankin County Landings on the lower lake. All have at least five feet of water on the ramps. Only the Goshen Springs Landing has floating courtesy piers, providing the safest and easiest launch conditions.

“Also, when boating, be aware that with the lower levels more obstacles have been brought to or just below the surface,” said John Sigman, PRVWSD’s general manager. “It is best to stay in marked channels at all times while running.”