This time last year, the entire City of Jackson was without reliable running water. This led to a state of emergency declaration from the governor and President Joe Biden.
The state and federal government had to step in to help distribute water to tens of thousands of residents in the capital city. Now, residents said they’ve seen some relief, but the city still has a long way to go before its water woes are over.
A federal judge put Ted Henifin in charge of the city’s water system, and the federal government put $600 million towards fixing Jackson’s water infrastructure in late 2022. Since then, city officials said there have been less frequent outages, boil water notices, and water main breaks.
“There have been upgrades to the facility itself. There have been upgrades under the ground. I think they identified and found where a lot of leaks are. As they find those things and locate them throughout the city, we have seen an improvement in not only water pressure but in not only water pressure, but an improvement in flow,” said Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks, Ward 6.
Although repairs and upgrades have been made, there is still a long road ahead when it comes to fixing the system.
“Until you can fix the piping, rusted pipes, over a decade, many years. it’s going to continue,” said Veronica Wonsley, who lives in Jackson.
Inaccurate water billing is another major issue that Henifin is working to resolve.
“They’re trying to track down folks that aren’t paying their bills. They’re trying to work through some folks that have been overcharged. It’s a lot of moving pieces, and I’ve been assured by Mr. Henifin, the third-party manager, that the billing system will be fully functioning by the end of the year and that’s a good thing because we need the revenue,” said Jackson City Councilman Vernon Hartley, Ward 5.
City leaders hope to see residents regain trust in the city’s water as improvement plans move forward.
Henifin declined WJTV 12 News’ request for an interview on the improvements made within the system under his leadership.
Source: Wj Tv
