Henifin believes 'saboteur' opening city fire hydrants to reduce water pressure - WLBT

Henifin believes ‘saboteur’ opening city fire hydrants to reduce water pressure

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Jackson’s third-party water manager is asking residents to call (601) 500-5200 if they see an open fire hydrant.

Monday, Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin told the Jackson Rotary Club that a “saboteur” is intentionally opening hydrants at strategic spots in the city.

He didn’t know who was doing it or why someone was doing it but said the perpetrator had to be someone with knowledge of the water system.

“We are investigating that at the moment,” he said.

Henifin says the openings have occurred in areas where a flowing hydrant could impact overall pressure.

In recent weeks, JXN Water has gotten reports of at least three instances of hydrants being opened. In those cases, water officials found several hydrants open in each location.

About 60 people turned out for Monday’s Rotary meeting, where they were given an update on Henifin’s efforts to stabilize and improve the city’s water system.

Henifin was appointed third-party water manager as part of a federal court order handed down in November.

He also is on tap to take over the city’s sewer system, as part of another agreed order pending in federal court.

He touted the progress made in restoring water pressure across the system, giving credit to JXN Water Chief Operating Officer Jordan Hillman and Water Plants Supervisor Terrance Byrd for heading up a program to inspect all of the city’s water valves.

Initially, the two were opening valves by hand. A contractor has since been brought on to help in the effort.

Since that effort began, more than 80 formerly closed valves have been opened improving water pressure across most of the system.

“A lot of work is happening that you haven’t seen, and it didn’t cost a lot of money,” he said, “which is great.”

The 40-year public works veteran also discussed plans to replace approximately 109 miles of Jackson’s small-diameter pipeline, to improve water pressure and bring the city up to industry standards.

The small-diameter lines are the ones that serve residential areas. The majority of those lines are two to four inches. Henifin says they should be six.

JXN Water currently is designing a pilot project to replace the first mile of pipeline. That work will help determine how much replacing the full 109 miles would cost.

He estimates it will cost between $3 million and $5 million per mile to replace the pipeline. That work also would include repaving the streets where the lines are put in place.

Henifin also discussed efforts to fully staff Jackson’s water treatment plants, as well as efforts to address water main leaks.

He said JXN Water likely will extend its interim contract with Jacobs Solutions for several more months due to some cost and liability issues.

The firm was brought on in December to help stabilize the plant. JXN Water entered a six-month agreement with Jacobs in February.

The city’s water manager also addressed the presence of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in the city’s water supply.

The EPA says PFAS are per- and poly-fluoroalkyls used in industry and consumer products for decades.

The agency’s website states that exposure to certain levels of the chemicals can have adverse impacts on health, including decreased fertility or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental delays in children, increased risk of cancer, and increased cholesterol levels.

“We’ve gotten some preliminary test results, we’re not seeing levels that we’re concerned about, but it’s probably only a matter of time,” he said.

To address that problem, he said additional treatment processes will be added at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant to help break up the chemicals.

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