The DEC project demonstrates the effectiveness of a watershed or systems approach to reduce erosion, sedimentation, and flooding.

To date, DEC monitors 28 different sites on 21 creeks within the Upper Yazoo Basin and is expanding into the Yalobusha Basin.  The basin presents a complex array of watershed erosion problems, both natural and human created.  The four main problem areas include:

Erosion
Sedimentation
Flood control
Environmental quality

Each of these problem areas, and the solutions, are intrinsically related. Measures which retard erosion within a watershed also reduce sedimentation and flooding, and enhance fish and wildlife communities.

DEC comprises a joint effort among many agencies:

• Army Corps’ Vicksburg District
• Soil Conservation Service
• USDA Agriculture Research Service’s (ARS) National Sedimentation Laboratory (NSL)
• U.S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station (WES)
• U. S. Geological Survey (USGS)

The Corps and SCS serve as the two action agencies responsible for planning, design, and construction of project features. The ARS and WES participate in an advisory capacity to support the overall mission and to provide pre- and post-project research and monitoring. Additionally, the USGS provides assistance on the DEC project through stream gaging and water quality monitoring on DEC streams.

The DEC project requires that the cooperating agencies investigate problems and implement solutions based on a system, or watershed approach. Thus, within a given watershed, several types of structural and non-structural measures may be planned. Read about the following areas of the DEC project.