Flood-Finishing Upgrades in Jonesboro

(Editor’s Note: Each year, Arkansas Business partners with the Arkansas Municipal League to present the Trendsetter City awards, which recognize exceptional initiatives underway in municipalities across the state. Large, medium and small-sized cities were honored in six categories: Diversity and Inclusion; Education/Workforce Development; Infrastructure and Water; Public Works/Environmental and Green Management; Technology and Security; and Tourism Development/Creative Culture. Below is one winner’s story. For more, click here.) 

Infrastructure and Water
Winner • Over 20,000

The Challenge

In May 2016, Jonesboro experienced a flood that impacted more than 300 homes. In response, the city commissioned a study that came back with a daunting design for flood mitigation across the city — a $350 million commitment to new drainage, levees and land management. For a city with an annual budget of less than $100 million, the plan was a nonstarter, so Jonesboro had to find another way to diminish the impact of future heavy rainfall.

The Solution

With an investment of about $1 million, the process began in 2018 with upgrading, widening and cleaning up the over 400 miles of major drainage ditches weaving through the city. A general clean-up of the city was next. As of August 2023, 200 condemned or condemnable houses have been removed. In January 2023, the city hosted a trial run neighborhood clean up, with almost 10 tons of unwanted items collected and sent to the landfill during the first weekend.

Pretty City

In 2021, Mayor Copenhaver created the Keep Jonesboro Beautiful Commission. Meanwhile, the city’s communications department began an educational campaign to stress the importance of resident involvement in keeping drainage paths clear.

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