Delta Sustainable Water Resources Task Force

The future of the Mississippi Delta’s economic and environmental viability depends on abundant, accessible water of sufficient quality. Over 19,000 permitted irrigation wells screened in the shallow Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer are used for irrigation, aquaculture, and wildlife management purposes.  Over time, pumpage demands have continued to exceeded recharge to the MRVA, leading to continued overbalances of groundwater withdrawals versus aquifer recharge, disconnected surface and ground water interaction, and notable water-level declines in the aquifer.

To address serious threats to the viability of the Mississippi Delta’s MRVA aquifer and Delta-wide stream flows, MDEQ created an executive-level task force to address these water resource challenges in November of 2011.  In 2014, Governor Phil Bryant issued an Executive Order formalizing the Governor’s Delta Sustainable Water Resources Task Force.

The Task Force includes the Yazoo Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District, Delta Council, Delta F.A.R.M., Mississippi Farm Bureau, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and MDEQ.

The Task Force and its work groups are focused on the development and implementation of approaches and strategies to ensure sustainable ground and surface water resources for current and future generations in the Mississippi Delta.