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25-730: When the Waterway District was created in 1962, its main mission was flood control for rivers and their tributaries along the Pascagoula River Basin in southeastern and east central Mississippi. In addition to flood control, the agency's mission expanded to include water management and recreation. The District derives its name from Pat Harrison , who served Mississippi as U.S. Representative (1911–19) and Senator (1919-41). Funding for PHWD comes from ad valorem taxes collected in member Counties, park recreation fees, timber sales, and interest from investments. PHWD

50-611: A direct result of the Deepwater horizon oil spill. This was determined by examining rates of wetland loss in the region from the year prior to the oil spill and contrasting that with the rates of wetland loss after the oil spill. The study noted significant land loss in regions not impacted by wave activity, further demonstrating that the land degradation was caused by oil rather than other sources of weathering from waves and cyclones. Other notable oil spills affecting bayous include 4,000 U.S. gallons (about 15,141.65 L) of oil spilling in

75-520: A lake near Bayou Sorrel in Louisiana and 20,000 U.S. gallons (about 75,708.24 L) of oil spilling into Saint Bernard Parish waters and the adjacent Bayou Bienvenue in Louisiana. Both incidents occurred in 2022. Oil spills harm bayous as oil is toxic to most animals. In vapor form, oil leads to lung, liver, and nervous system dysfunction if inhaled. Ingested oil poses threats to the digestive tract. Oil matts feathers and fur, resulting in disruptions in

100-441: A wetland system impacts its carbon exchange with the environment. Inhibiting a wetland's ability to sequester carbon further damages the status of the wetland as a carbon sink . This poses larger-scale issues as it alters the exchange of carbon dioxide with the atmosphere and environment. The use of pesticides in agriculture poses further threats to bayou ecosystems. A study conducted on three bayous (Cow Oak, Howden, Roundaway) in

125-527: Is a probable carcinogen , and it has been linked to adverse health effects in both humans and wildlife. Several oil spills have impacted bayou regions, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. This oil spill occurred off the Louisiana coast and resulted in the deaths of 11 people and the release of over 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. The bayou wetlands of Bataria Bay, Louisiana experienced increased shoreline erosion as

150-664: Is a river , about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 square miles (23,000 km²) and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico . The Pascagoula River Basin is managed by the Pat Harrison Waterway District . It is significant as the only unaffected (or nearly so) river with a discharge of over 10 cubic kilometres (2.4 cu mi) per year flowing from

175-463: Is also known to have been in use, as in "Pine Buyou", used in a description by Congress in 1833 of Arkansas Territory . As of 2016 "bye-you" US : / ˈ b aɪ . uː / is the most common pronunciation, while a few use "bye-oh" US : / ˈ b aɪ . oʊ / , although that pronunciation is declining. The term Bayou Country is most closely associated with Cajun and Creole cultural groups derived from French settlers and stretching along

200-713: Is governed by an 18-member Board of Directors, with one Director appointed from each of the 15 member Counties and three Directors appointed by the Governor of Mississippi . Full-time employees are located at the central office in Hattiesburg and at the District's eight water parks. Originally, there were 15 Mississippi counties in the Pat Harrison Waterway District: As of 2014, three counties (Forrest, Jasper, and Lamar) had withdrawn from

225-659: Is thought to originate from the Choctaw word bayuk , which means "small stream". After first appearing in the 17th century, the term is found in 18th century accounts and maps, often as bayouc or bayouque , where it was eventually shortened to its current form. The first settlements of the Bayou Têche and other bayous were founded by the Louisiana Creoles , and the bayous are commonly associated with Creole and Cajun culture. An alternative spelling, "buyou",

250-654: The Geographic Names Information System , the river has also been known as: According to local Euro-American legend, the peace-loving Pascagoula tribe walked single file into the Singing River because the local Biloxi tribe were planning to attack. Anola, a Biloxi " princess ", eloped with the Pascagoula chief Altama, although she was engaged to a Biloxi chieftain. Anola's angry would-be husband led his soldiers into battle with

275-782: The Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, and picking back up in South Florida around the Everglades , with its center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The term may also be associated with the homelands of certain Choctaw tribal groups. Houston has the nickname "Bayou City". Anthropogenic influences have damaged bayou ecosystems over the years. Bayous are susceptible to pollution such as runoff from nearby urban communities (which can result in eutrophication ) and oil spills given their low-lying position in

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300-491: The Southern United States , a bayou ( / ˈ b aɪ . uː , ˈ b aɪ . oʊ / ) is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They typically contain brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of

325-435: The District. In the summer of 2018, PHWD moved out of their 56-year-old office building located at 6081 U.S. Route 49 south, as part of a lawsuit settlement with Forrest County. In September 2018, Forrest County Board of Supervisors ordered the demolition of the county-owned building, including its distinctive mural on the front facade, to facilitate future road construction near Forrest General Hospital. Water resources in

350-780: The Graham Ferry gauge. George and Jackson counties, the two counties closest to the Gulf, have two separate wildlife management areas called Water trails that provide controlled recreation such as camping, birding, or canoeing. The Pascagoula River is formed in northwestern George County , just north of the Merrill community, by the confluence of the Leaf and Chickasawhay Rivers and flows generally southward through swampy bottomlands in George and Jackson Counties. In its lower course

375-513: The Pascagoula River Basin, over which Pat Harrison Waterway District has jurisdiction, include: The agency oversees eight water parks with public amenities that include camp sites, boat launches, cabins, picnic areas, swimming areas, and meeting facilities. Little Black Creek Water Park ( Lumberton, MS ) was formerly managed by PHWD, but was leased to a private developer in 2013. Pascagoula River The Pascagoula River

400-549: The Pascagoula. Outnumbered and fearing enslavement by the Biloxi, the tribe joined hands and walked into the river singing a death song. This section of the Pascagoula River became known as the "Singing River" because of this death song, which reportedly can still be heard at night. 30°45′18″N 88°40′01″W  /  30.75500°N 88.66694°W  / 30.75500; -88.66694 Bayou In usage in

425-560: The United States into the Gulf of Mexico, and indeed the only one in the Cfa Köppen climate classification zone anywhere in the world, with the nearest approaches being the Juquiá and Itajaí in southeastern Brazil (The Yuan Jiang and Shinano Gawa are comparable to those Brazilian rivers but are only marginally in the Cfa zone). As a result, the Pascagoula has, in modern times, been

450-423: The animal's ability to insulate themselves in colder temperatures. Matted bird feathers lose properties that aid in flying and swimming. Such disruptions in individual adaptive ability may lead to trophic cascades in a bayou community.   Human development activities, such as the increase of impervious surfaces , results in quicker, high intensity flood pulses, delivering larger quantities of these nutrients to

475-619: The ecosystem at a much more rapid rate. Impervious surfaces include roads, housing developments, and parking lots that replace natural vegetation, typically associated with human development and urbanization. When impervious surfaces are installed, the layer of soil that stores water is damaged/removed, resulting in a lack of permeable surfaces to absorb rainfall and floodwater. Bayous have experienced trends of land cover loss and conversion to impervious surfaces, of which has been associated with influxes of metals such as aluminum, copper, iron, lead, and zinc. Heavy metals in sediments and ultimately

500-554: The focus of a great deal of effort regarding its conservation to prevent the construction of dams on it. The water district manager has proposed the construction of a couple of dams on tributaries called the Big and the Little Cedar creeks to manage the river's flow during a drought crisis. Since 1999 the water level in the river has fallen as low as 1.15 ft (on September 6, 2015) and 0.2 ft (October 8, 2000), as measured at

525-445: The lower Mississippi River Basin found that the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus to sample mesocosms affected the decomposition of maize crop and willow oak detritus. While both species showed an increase in decomposition rate after N and P nutrient enhancement, the maize crop broke down faster than the native willow oak. The maize crop also had a significantly faster microbial respiration rate. The changes in microbial respiration of

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550-573: The river forms several channels and bayous ; its largest such distributary is the West Pascagoula River , which flows into the Mississippi Sound at Gautier . The main channel passes Escatawpa and Moss Point and flows into the sound at Pascagoula . At low water the tidal effects are felt more than forty miles upstream. Pascagoula is a name derived from the Choctaw language meaning "bread people". According to

575-781: The southern United States, especially in the Mississippi River Delta , though they also exist elsewhere. A bayou is often an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is slower than the mainstem , often becoming boggy and stagnant. Though fauna varies by region, many bayous are home to crawfish , certain species of shrimp , other shellfish , catfish , frogs, toads , salamanders , newts , American alligators , American crocodiles , herons , lizards, turtles, tortoises , spoonbills , snakes, and leeches , as well as many other species. The word entered American English via Louisiana French in Louisiana and

600-694: The watershed. Many bayous have been cleared away by human activity as well (with those in Louisiana having shrunk by 1,900 square miles; 4,900 square kilometers since the 1930s). Farming activities introduce nutrients into bayou ecosystems. Row crop agricultural land use is common (75–86% of the bayou watershed) in Bayou watersheds given the unique physical characteristics like flat topography and alluvial soils. Agricultural activity results in byproducts of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers, which can drastically alter delicate balances in freshwater and marine ecosystems. A study conducted on 3 agricultural bayous in

625-516: The western Mississippi River watershed found that pesticides released into bayou sediments cause significant impairment of the amphipod Hyalella azteca both spatially and temporally. Despite being banned 40 years ago in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency, traces of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ( DDT ), once used in agriculture as an insecticide, were found in sediment and amphipod tissue. DDT

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