Ross Barnett Reservoir

Ross Barnett Reservoir
July sunset at the Ross Barnett Reservoir, showing the public fishing pier on Spillway Road.
Location	Rankin / Madison counties, Mississippi, US
Coordinates	32°27′26″N 90°01′04″W / 32.4571°N 90.0179°W / 32.4571; -90.0179Coordinates: 32°27′26″N 90°01′04″W / 32.4571°N 90.0179°W / 32.4571; -90.0179
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Pearl River
Primary outflows	Pearl River
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	16 mi (25.74 km)
Max. width	7 mi (11.26 km)
Surface area	52 sq mi (134.67 sq km)
Average depth	12 ft (3.66 m)
Max. depth	60 ft (10.67 m)
Shore length1	105 mi (168.95 km)
Settlements	Jackson / Brandon / Ridgeland / Madison
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Ross Barnett Reservoir is an impoundment of the Pearl River between Madison and Rankin counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The 33,000-acre (130 km²) lake serves as the state's largest drinking water resource, and is managed by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. The lake features 105 miles (169 km) of shoreline impounded on the south by a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) man-made dam and spillway. The western shore is bounded by the historic Natchez Trace Parkway.

Named for Ross R. Barnett, the 52nd Governor of Mississippi, construction on the Ross Barnett Reservoir began in 1960 by MWH Engineering (now MWH Global) under the direction of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. The main purpose of the infrastructure project was to create a permanent water source to supply drinking water for the Mississippi capital city of Jackson. Flooding of the Jackson section of the Pearl River had been studied by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 1930 and city leaders envisioned commercial and industrial benefits from land reclamation associated with flood control. The Jackson Chamber of Commerce prior to the completion of the reservoir promoted riparian land reclamation with industrial development, a new bypass for U.S. Highway 49 constructed upon a levee, straightening the Pearl River channel and potential navigation. Construction on the lake was completed in 1963, and the water level reached average capacity in 1965. In the 1980s two power companies including the local electricity producer, Mississippi Power and Light Company, made an applications to the federal government authorities to modify the dam to produce hydropower.

The 1979 Easter flood at Jackson initiated planning to create additional levees below the reservoir and studies of a 68 foot high, dry dam called Shoccoe above the reservoir.