Title 51, Waters, Water Resources, Water Districts, Drainage, and Flood Control

This article shall be considered supplemental and additional to any and all other laws and confers sufficient authority in and of itself for the purposes set forth herein.

It is hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination, that the waterways and surface waters of the state are among its basic resources, that the overflow and surface waters of the state have not heretofore been conserved to realize their full beneficial use, that the u…

The Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District may hereafter be organized in this state under the provisions of this article, in the manner hereinafter provided for. This water management district shall be an agency of the state and a body politic and corporate.

(a) All powers of the district shall be exercised by a board of directors, to be composed of the following:(a) Each member of the Tombigbee Valley Authority as created by virtue of Sections 51-13-1 through 51-13-9, whose county becomes a part of the Tombigbee River Valley Water M…

(1) Within twenty (20) days after the passage of this article, the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality, State Board of Health, Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and the Forestry Commission of the State of Mississippi shall appoint their respecti…

Any eligible county may become a member of the district, subsequent to its creation, in the manner as the original counties became members and new counties shall have the same power and authority and be entitled to equal consideration of the district’s board of directors, not inc…

(a) The Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District through its board of directors is hereby empowered:(a) To develop, in conjunction with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Secretary of Agriculture, or with the head of any other federal or state agency…

All construction contracts by the district, where the amount of the contract shall exceed two thousand, five hundred dollars ($2,500.00), shall be made upon at least three weeks’ public notice by advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the district, which notice sh…

The Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District is authorized to establish or otherwise provide for public parks and recreation facilities and for the preservation of fish and wildlife, and to acquire land otherwise than by condemnation except as provided in subsection (e) o…

(1) The board of directors of the district shall have the power to adopt and promulgate all reasonable regulations to secure, maintain, and preserve the sanitary condition of all water in and to flow into any reservoir owned by the district, to prevent waste of water or the unaut…

The district is empowered to obtain through appropriate hearings an appropriation permit or permits from the board of water commissioners of the State of Mississippi as provided for in Sections 51-3-1 through 51-3-53.

In each county of the State of Mississippi which is part of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, beginning with the ad valorem tax assessment for the calendar year 1964, payable on or before February 1, 1965, and so long as any bonds issued hereunder and other ob…

The board of directors of the district is hereby authorized and empowered to borrow money or issue bonds of the district for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring, owning, constructing, operating, repairing, and maintaining the projects and works specified herein, includin…

All such bonds provided for by Section 51-13-123 shall be negotiable instruments within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code of this state, shall be lithographed or engraved and printed in two (2) or more colors to prevent counterfeiting, shall be in denominations of not le…

Bonds issued pursuant to this article shall not exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000.00) in principal amount.

The board of supervisors of each county becoming a member of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District shall pay or cause to be paid to the depository of said district a sum equal to one-half (½) mill on all of the taxable property within the Tombigbee Watershed area o…

To provide additional funds for the planning, undertaking, completing and maintenance of any special work or construction project in a county as part of the long range development of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, the respective boards of supervisors may se…

All bonds issued pursuant to this article shall be validated as now provided by law of Sections 31-13-1 through 31-13-11, Mississippi Code of 1972. The services of the state’s bond attorney may be employed in the preparation of such bond resolutions, forms or proceedings as may b…

At the discretion of the board of directors of the district any bonds provided for in Section 51-13-123 may be further secured by a trust agreement between the board of directors and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having powers of a trust company with…

The board of directors of the district is hereby authorized to provide by resolution for the issuance of refunding bonds of the district for the purpose of refunding any bonds then outstanding and issued under authority of this article, including the payment of any redemption pre…

All bonds of the district are hereby declared to be legal and authorized investments for public funds of counties, cities, towns, school districts, banks, savings banks, trust companies, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations, insurance companies, and for f…

(1) The board of directors shall designate one or more qualified state depositories within the district to serve as depositories for the funds of the district, and all funds of the district other than funds required by any trust agreement to be deposited, from time to time, with …

The board of directors of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District is hereby authorized and empowered to negotiate and contract with the United States of America, or any agency thereof, concerning all lands, easements, and rights of way necessary for the relocation of…

The Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District shall have authority to act jointly with political subdivisions of the state and agencies, commissions, and instrumentalities thereof, and with the federal government and other agencies thereof in the performance of the purpose…

The provisions of any other law, general, special, or local, except as provided in this article, shall not limit or restrict the powers granted by this article. The water management district herein provided for shall not be subject to regulation or control by the public service c…

The accomplishment of the purposes stated in this article being for the benefit of the people of this state and for the improvement of their properties and industries, the district in carrying out the purposes of this article will be performing an essential public function and sh…

Any municipality or county which is within the territorial limits of the district may advance funds to said district to pay the preliminary expenses, including engineers’ reports, organization, or administration expenses, on such terms of repayment as the governing body of such m…

It is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination that the overflow and inundation of sixteenth section lands or in lieu lands shall not constitute legal waste of such lands. The district shall pay a reasonable rental for the use of such lands to be overflowed, to be…

Nothing in this article shall be construed to violate any provision of the federal or state constitutions, and all acts done under this article shall be done in such manner as will conform thereto, whether herein expressly provided or not. Where any procedure hereunder may be hel…