Vicksburg North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield pulled up by a small patch of vacant land at Webb Street and Natchez Avenue Thursday afternoon, got out of his car and began examining the piles of debris and brush heaped near the rear of the land.

“Look at this,” he said. “People need to have more pride in their community.

“These are not strangers doing this,” he said. “These are people who live in Warren County. It’s deplorable and has to be stopped.”

Mayfield’s discovery came three hours after the Board of Mayor and Aldermen discussed the growing problem of illegal trash and debris piles cluttering the city. The board sent out a warning that the city is going to crack down on illegal dumping.

Under city ordinance, Mayfield said, contractors working on a job are responsible for disposing of any debris they create. But instead of hiring a company to collect the waste, or taking it to a certified landfill, he said, some contractors opt to dump illegally. When an illegal dump is found, he said, city workers have to pick it up.

“It costs everybody,” he said.

The penalty for illegal dumping in the city is a fine of $100 per day for each day the dump remains or 15 days in jail.

Mayfield wasn’t the only city official to find debris. Mayor Paul Winfield said he discovered several piles in the Kings Community off North Washington Street over the weekend.

“I was giving a tour Saturday and I saw those piles of debris and trash on the roadside,” he said, “I was taken aback to see that.”

Both of the areas cited Thursday are near north Vicksburg neighborhoods that were flooded during the historic spring rise of the Mississippi River, which climbed to a record 57.1 feet on May 19, inundating much of northwest Vicksburg.

Mayfield said there are several places in the city where he has found illegal dumps. One of the more popular sites, he said, is along Jackson Lane and Hardin Road, west of Ford Subdivision in north Vicksburg.

Once a residential area, the site was vacated long ago when the residents took federal buyouts to escape flooding. The land is now covered with vegetation.

Mayfield said people wanting to dump illegally look for isolated places, but added, “They’ll go any place they think they can dump. They’ll dump at any place they can find. They’re dumping anything, roofing material, construction debris, household garbage and some hazardous materials.”

He said he received a call from a resident about someone dumping roofing material near Greater Mount Lebanon Baptist Church on Alpine Street.

Winfield said people caught illegally dumping debris or trash will face arrest and a trial.

“If we catch you, we’re going to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.