Is Jackson’s water emergency over? Here’s what parties in the case have to say

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) — The back-and-forth continues over whether a federal court order governing the takeover of Jackson’s water system should be amended, three years after it was put in place.

Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin says he is open to the order being modified but rejects the argument that the city’s water emergency is over.

That’s the argument being put forth by the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign and People’s Advocacy Institute, the groups who were named as parties to the lawsuit in 2024.

[READ: Civil rights advocacy groups now parties to Jackson water lawsuit]

Those groups are urging U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate to amend the 2022 interim stipulated order taking over Jackson’s water system, in part, stating in part that the “state and federal declarations of a state emergency [have] expired, and the acute phase of the city’s water crisis, which precipitated the filing of this action… has subsided.”

However, in a November 19 letter to Wingate, Malissa Wilson, an attorney for Henifin, says the emergency is not over.

“He [the third-party manager] cannot pay the water and sewer systems’ bills and needed significant assistance from Congress to keep the water system financially viable into 2026,” she wrote.

[READ: ‘This house of cards is going to tumble’: Henifin sounds alarm on JXN Water finances]

Wilson added that the “intervenors’ contention that the emergency is over is not only at odds with the ITPM’s opinion, it is [also] contradicted by both Congress and the Jackson City Council.”

Congress recently approved H.R. 5371, a continuing resolution to reopen the government.

The bill includes language repurposing $54 million in federal infrastructure funds previously awarded to the city to be used to help cover JXN Water operations.

According to language of that resolution, the reallocation is “designated as being for an emergency requirement” concurrent to the 2022 bill authorizing the original funding.

In a November 26 filing, the intervenors say they “share the ITPM’s deep concern over the precarious financial standing of their city’s public water system,” but say the stipulated order should be “revisited and updated to reflect the current needs of the parties and public that have changed since” the water crisis.

The Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign and People’s Advocacy Institute have been pushing to modify the order for months.

In May, the groups argued, in part, that Henifin should be required to follow state and federal procurement rules when awarding contracts.

The stipulated order states that Henifin is not bound by those rules.

The two also have pointed out other concerns, such as the turbidity of the water, the delay in fixing filters at the J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant, and failure to install corrosion control measures.

Turbidity, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, is the measure of cloudiness in the water. The higher the turbidity, the less likely chemicals are effective at killing potential pathogens.

Prior to the 2022 crisis, turbidity had been a problem with city water for months.

However, Wilson writes turbidity and lead are no longer the case, telling the court JXN Water “has consistently met its lead and copper requirements for several years” and that the “system is now meeting the secondary Water Quality Parameters, which serve as a tripwire to ensure the system meets its lead and copper requirements.”

Additionally, she writes that construction on the corrosion control projects designed to address lead in the future is underway and should be finished by the end of the second quarter of 2026.

[READ: Fifth Circuit revives lawsuit alleging lead in Jackson water]

“Extensive information about all three of their substantive issues is contained in the quarterly reports, financial management plan, and the other extensive reporting, which the ITPM has been providing,” Wilson wrote.

Those matters aside, Wilson said the third-party takes issue with the intervenors themselves, saying they “have been unhelpful from the start.”

“Despite receiving significant amounts of information, they have provided no substantive input on the issues that are critical to the system’s failure. Their public opposition to the rate increase and necessary shutoffs, while simultaneously complaining about the collection rate, has made it more difficult to stabilize the system and minimize the costs on future ratepayers,” she wrote. “Additionally, their silence on the SNAP rate litigation was notable.”

SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. JXN Water provides a $30 monthly discount to SNAP recipients. Henifin had hoped to obtain SNAP data from the state and federal government, but both entities fought him in court.

As for the rate increase, Henifin is proposing raising rates to make up for continued cash shortfalls. To increase collections, he also has ramped up shutoffs for nonpayment.

[READ: Judge temporarily blocks Henifin’s attempt to advertise JXN Water rate increase]

For their part, the intervenors say that as an officer of the court, Henifin should remain neutral on whether the order should be changed.

“It is improper for the ITPM to take an adversarial position with respect to a motion filed by a party to this litigation,” they wrote. “This court should look to the interests of Jackson residents and the city’s public water system users… and not to the ITPM’s position when setting the terms of the receivership.”

Wingate is expected to take up the matter in January.

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