Pools Bluff Sill Dam: Why is it still in place today?

With the discussion and public hearings for the proposed One Lake Project being held over the next few weeks, the possible impact that project could have on the East Pearl River is front and center on residents in south Mississippi and Louisiana.

To understand how the diversion of water on the East Pearl River has continued to create more and more problems, let’s take a quick look back on the why and when the sill dam was put in place at Pools Bluff.

Low Water Sills and Low Head Dams are underwater concrete barriers placed along the width of a river to regulate flow, usually resulting in a change in the height of the water level. These sill dams are often difficult to detect from up-river and may not appear to be dangerous to boaters or swimmers. The hydraulic forces and recirculating currents are in fact extremely hazardous and can swamp boats and drown swimmers. CBS News reported: "Since the 1950s, at least 441 people have died at 235 low-head dams in 38 states, according to researchers at Brigham Young University".

In 1935, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) "Pearl River Navigational Channel" project dredged a 20 mile canal with 3 locks from south of Bogalusa to the mouth of the West Pearl River.

In the 1950s the USACE built 3 low head sills (the one at Pools Bluff south of Bogalusa, one at the Bogue Chitto River and one at the spillway) to help maintain water levels in the Navigation Canal.