Last week's rainy weather caused some big problems for several residents of the Greenwood area.

At an appearance before the Itawamba County Board of Supervisors Monday, Alicia Lee, Jackie Shumpert and several other residents of southwest Itawamba County complained of flooding problems in their area. According to the Greenwood residents, the four inches of rainfall last week caused nearby Boguefala Creek to overflow, flooding their entire area and washing out roads so they were impassable.

"Every time it rains a lot our roads get flooded out," Lee, a resident of Joiner Road, explained to the board. "Our kids can't go to school; we can't go to work; and the school bus won't even go down there after it's rained. We have to do something about it."

A serious problem

Third district supervisor Steve Moore told the group he's seen the flooding in the area first hand and understands how seriously heavy rain affects the lives of those who live there.

"It's a problem -- a very big problem," Moore said. "About two years ago, we dug down through there. But when Boguefala gets full, it just backs up all through there."

Moore suggested having water management survey the area and try to find a solution to the problem.

According to Moore, the ditches that are already in place in the area tend to fill with leaves, blocking drainage from the area. He suggested that cleaning those ditches could help alleviate some of the problem but wasn't likely to outright solve it.

He added that a previous attempt to extend one of the ditches through the Hurssey Bottom area, which could largely solve the problem, was met with resistance from some land owners. The residents present at the meeting agreed they would try to resolve the situation.

"If you can get everyone in the community playing from the same sheet of music, so to speak, it would be a big help," said board president Danny Holley.

He added he sympathized with the Greenwood residents and their flooding problems.

"We had a good bit of flooding all around, but I don't know of any area that got hit as bad as yours," Holley commented.

Adam Armour can be reached at 862-3141, by e-mailing adam.armour@itawamba360.com or by visiting his blog at itawamba360.com.