Jackson residents left without water after JXN Water cut-offs; councilman demands better service

Several residents in a Jackson neighborhood are dealing with cut-offs by JXN Water.The cut-offs have left them unable to perform daily tasks like washing dishes or flushing toilets, prompting Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes to demand better customer service from the water company.Stokes said the Jackson Fire Department and the Department of Public Works had to supply Wood Avenue residents with barrels of water for their daily tasks. Some residents woke up to find yellow JXN Water cut-off notices on their doors. One woman reported being without water since Tuesday, despite paying $1,677 to avoid a cut-off. She said she never missed her $70 monthly bill. Although her family paid the balance, she said JXN Water informed her she must wait three to four days to have her water restored.”I’m saying JXN Water needs to handle these situations in a better way or give it back to the city,” Stokes said.Bertha Rancifer, a Jackson resident, expressed her frustration.”I can’t cook, I can’t flush my toilet, I can’t do anything, so now what am I supposed to do? Just wait on them? I thought their job was to turn it on. Once they turn it off and you pay your bill, they’re supposed to come back out and turn your water back on,” Rancifer said.During a JXN Water trial last month, interim manager Ted Henefin said that customers received at least 81 days of notices before their water was shut off. Attempts to reach JXN Water for a response to Stokes’ claims were unsuccessful.