City officials are hoping to make joint repairs to at least eight sections of the floodwall and install two new pumps at City Front as part of an annual maintenance program on the city’s flood protection system.

The board on May 22 took under advisement bids from Dirt Works of Vicksburg and Hemphill Construction of Florence to rehabilitate the city’s storm water pump station and make joint repairs for the floodwall.

The floodwall joint repairs are performed annually on sections of the floodwall, which was built in the 1940s and protects City Front from high water when the Mississippi River reaches or exceeds flood stage.

“We’re going to do eight joints, and if the bids come in low enough under our budget, we may be able to do a few more,” Public Works Director Garnet Van Norman said. The budget for the flood protection work is estimated at $100,000 — $50,000 for the joint repairs and $50,000 to install the two new pumps and new piping.

Van Norman said the joints that connect the floodwall sections are sealed with a copper and rubber seal. He said the seals would be repaired using a special rubber sealant.

The pumps are housed in an elevated building on the north end of the floodwall by the Clay Street entrance to the river on City Front. The pumps recirculate floodwaters back into the river during high water periods.

“We bought the new pumps, but when we looked at the pipes, we noticed they were in bad shape,” Van Norman said. “Those pipes were installed in the 1950s, so we waited until we could replace the pipe to install the pumps.”