Jackson water flowing again, thanks to actions by the state

Water pressure has been returned to the city of Jackson with the help of the state, Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Monday, adding that “the health department told me this morning that [tanks are] full for the first time in months.”

One public policy expert called the water loss a “systemic mismanagement failure” as the state spent millions to repair two water treatment plants and truck in drinking water for more than 100,000 residents. 

Madison County schools and businesses have rallied to help provide drinking water to Jackson.

Jackson businesses, specifically restaurants, have been hit hard in the crisis.

Restauranteur Jeff Good told Inc. Magazine that sales are down 20 percent and each of his three restaurants is spending between $200 and $500 in additional operating costs daily.

“We are under tremendous duress spending this amount of money every day,” Good told Inc. “We’re hanging on by our fingertips on the edge of the ledge.”

In the face of the crisis, Good remains optimistic that the problems can be solved through collaboration of local and state officials. 

He penned an op-ed in The Clarion Ledger entitled “Working Together Works” saying his one birthday wish is to see the city’s water problems fixed.

“All I want for my birthday is regional collaboration on our failing water and sewer system,” Good said on social media Tuesday, Sept. 6. “Yes, it’s a big ask, but I’m asking the birthday fairy to sprinkle pixie dust on all the local players so they all hug and get along.”

Reeves said that crews from local, federal and out of state agencies are working day and night on the issues, partidularly at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant below the Ross Barnett Reservoir dam in Ridgeland.

“I want to thank the individuals that are working their tale off at O.B. Curtis,” Reeves said.

Reeves said they are developing “intermediate and long-range plans” for the Jackson water system. He said the majority of the repairs they have seen at the water plant so far have been in the $5,000 to $7,000 range. Last week state officials said they had already spent about $8 million responding to the crisis.

“There may be more bad days in the future,” Reeves said. “We have, however, reached a place where people in Jackson can trust that water will come out of the faucet, toilets can be flushed, fires can be fought.” 

As water distribution efforts continue in Jackson, Reeves thanked the Mississippi Emergency Management and Mississippi National Guard for distributing water.

“In just five days,” Reeves wrote in a social media post. “our Mississippi National Guard service members and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency have accomplished a tremendous amount for the people of Jackson.”

He went on to say that they have served almost 100,000 vehicles at seven distribution sites citywide. This breaks down to 2,646 pallets of bottled water distributed and 3,484 items of hand sanitizer. In additon they have distributed a total of 1,671 gallons of non potable water to those in Jackson affected by the water crisis.

The MEMA Call Center remains open. If you need resources to donate or have questions, please call 1-833-591-6362 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. any day of the week.

Until Sept. 30, businesses or individuals can drop off water at Gluckstadt City Hall, which will then be given to the Salvation Army to distribute in Jackson.

Underinvesting in Jackson’s water infrastructure has been the failure in leadership, observers agree.

“For years, city authorities have underinvested in Jackson’s water infrastructure, to the point where it is now falling apart,” said Douglas Carswell, head of the Mississippi Public Policy Institute, a Jackson-based conservative think tank, in an op-ed for the Journal that appeared online.

“This, some will be quick to tell you, is because of a lack of money.  But why is there not enough money?” Carswell said.

John Wallace, the longtime head of Canton Municipal Utilities, said water systems have to be maintained and Jackson has failed to maintain and improve its infrastructure.

Gov. Reeves set up a command center at the O.B. Curtis plant early last week and held press conferences regularly with state and federal officials seeking to provide ultimate transparency, he told reporters.

Workers at the O. B. Curtis water plant have done very good, hard, and valuable work, but there “just haven’t been enough of them,” Reeves said last week in an update from the plant.

“Things are not significantly worse today than they were yesterday and not are significantly better but we are seeing some progress,” Reeves said.

Jim Craig, director of health protection for the state Health Department, said that the O.B. Curtis plant, rated for 50 million gallons of water a day, last Tuesday was only pushing about 30 million gallons.

Water was “not optimally treated for consumption,” he said, after an analysis at the O.B. Curtis plant. The chemistry was out of balance and compared it to a swimming pool and rainwater with additional raw water coming into the plant.