When a Mississippi county may spend public money fixing a private lake dam
When a Mississippi county may spend public money fixing a private lake dam
2026-09-15 · Mississippi · Regulation
A Mississippi county board of supervisors may spend public money repairing a dam on private land — but only after clearing four statutory gates, and one of them is that not a single affected owner objects in writing. The Attorney General set them out on May 11, 2026, answering the Clarke County Board of Supervisors.1
The facts
Beaver activity had breached a dam on private property, threatening to wash out a public road. The county wanted to know whether it could pay for the repair.
The four gates under Section 19-5-92.1
The opinion says yes, subject to all of the following:
- A minutes entry recording the board's finding that the work is necessary to the public health, safety or welfare.
- Written notice to every affected property owner, with a reasonable window to object.
- No written objection received from any affected owner.
- Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a county-funded culvert or bridge preserving the landowner's prior ingress and egress.
Gate three is the one that decides most cases. A single written objection from any affected owner stops the expenditure.
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Related Mississippi HOA Topics
- MS AG Op., Caves (May 11, 2026), "Repair of Dam on Private Property Under Section 19-5-92.1" ↩
- MS AG Op., Thaggard (May 14, 2026), county authority to install culvert pipes and grade entrances ↩
- MS AG Op., Povall (June 8, 2026), "Sanitary Sewer Services for Homeowners Residing Outside Municipality" ↩
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