Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District

Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District, a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, is the exclusive recipient of federal grant funding through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for emergency watershed protection and post-disaster infrastructure recovery work across multiple Mississippi counties. The district operates as a prime grant recipient only — it does not hold federal contracts, serve as a subcontractor, or sit on federal contract vehicles — and all 24 recent awards (100% of portfolio) flow from NRCS under a single grant program.

The district's entire federal footprint derives from the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (CFDA 10.923), a cooperative-agreement mechanism administered by NRCS to fund state and local sponsors in implementing post-disaster watershed recovery, streambank and embankment stabilization, and debris removal. Recent awards cluster in Alcorn, Prentiss, Itawamba, Lee, Tishomingo, Noxubee, and Monroe counties across Mississippi. Representative projects include four cooperative agreements awarded on July 6, 2026, for debris removal at Choate Creek, Little Yellow Creek, Hatchie River, and Rienzi Channel (ultimate completion January 16, 2027), each addressing flooding hazards from natural disaster impacts; two streambank stabilization awards from September 8, 2025, totaling $383,148.75 for work along Mustang Drive–Tishtony Creek in Itawamba County and the Hatchie River in Alcorn County (completion October 6, 2026); a $222,918.75 embankment stabilization cooperative agreement in Prentiss County (completion September 14, 2026); and a $310,672.50 award for road shoulder stabilization with rock riprap in Noxubee County (completion April 14, 2026).

The district's combined obligation across all federal awards totals $1.9 million. Activity levels have been volatile — three awards in 2021 and seven in 2020 dropped to one in 2024, then rebounded to seven in 2025 and four in 2026 — reflecting the episodic nature of emergency watershed funding following natural disaster events. Four awards currently on the books are scheduled for completion within the next twenty-four months and face potential recompete or continuation decisions. The district functions as the project sponsor under each cooperative agreement, assuming responsibility for local cost-share contributions, land rights acquisition, permit procurement, and long-term operations and maintenance of completed stabilization infrastructure.