Big Creek Millington activity provides flood protection for nearby neighborhoods and the U.S. Naval Support Command Center in Millington through creation of a new floodplain which will also provide local recreational benefits.
Recent Events
Project Updates (March 2022): Shelby County has acquired vacant land around around area 2 of Big Creek and is redesigning area 3. The city has also completed construction for Phase I of overbank excavation, and the application for engineering for floodway design and landscape architecture has been completed.
Groundbreaking Event (December 2021): Shelby County, the City of Millington, the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, and Naval Support Activity Mid-South joined to hold a public groundbreaking ceremony that marked the beginning of construction for the $40 million grant-funded flood mitigation project. Please see the links below regarding this event:
Floodway and Overbank:
The resilient approach for this area includes the establishment of a large floodway between the existing levee on the north and the elevated Highway to the South to provide an area for flood waters to bypass the community. While creating the new floodplain will require removal of trees to improve water conveyance, a tree canopy plan will be implemented to offset tree removal by four-to-one. Shelby County, the City of Millington, and other jurisdictions will work together to set aside approximately 500 acres for tree mitigation.
Wetland and Recreation Area:
The Big Creek floodway will provide more room for a swelling stream during extreme storm events resulting in resilient, environmentally compatible solutions in the same space as recreational amenities for residents to use when the area is not flooded. The activity will create sustainable wildlife areas with native vegetation, wetlands, and other natural features. The area will also provide broader community benefits through connectivity of greenway trails, walking paths, ball fields, and other recreational amenities in a 1255 acre area.
