Jackson's water system has improved, but some residents still hesitate to drink from the tap - WAPT Jackson

Jackson's water system has improved, but some residents still hesitate to drink from the tap

Jackson’s water system is still under a microscope after significant system failures over recent years.

Third-party water administrator Ted Henifin continues to oversee more than $600 million in federal funds to bring the system up to par. As of late, JXN Water’s focus has been on addressing years of unpaid and inaccurate bills.

“In our case, debt service is still a huge portion,” Henifin said. “There’s outstanding debt of about $260 million, and monthly debt service payments are about $2 million a month.”

But many residents told 16 WAPT News that they are more concerned with what’s actually coming out of the tap. They find it difficult to pay for something they’re not even confident enough to drink.

Henifin has been on the job for nearly a year now. He’s tasked with fixing Jackson’s crippled sewer system, in addition to bringing Jackson’s aging water system up to standard. Henifin said under his watch, the water has seen marked improvement.

“Definitely an improvement in consistent quality. The plant wasn’t able to operate consistently before we got in,” Henifin said.

Fixes with Henifin in control include more valves open around the system, which has created higher and more consistent water pressure. The city’s water plants are pushing out collectively as much as 50 million gallons of water per day, with the capacity for much more.

The O.B. Curtis water treatment plant produces 20 million to 30 million gallons per day, while J.H. Fewell produces 10 million to 20 million gallons a day.

“I don’t know they’ve ever had a real problem with water, other than, you know, they’ve obviously had long-term boil-water notices from process problems at the treatment plant. There is a history of that,” Henifin said.

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JXN Water released its 2022 Water Quality Report in July. The data shows testing results for the year, along with information about any contamination violations. The biggest violation was a problem with high turbidity levels in June 2022.

Turbidity is cloudiness in the water and could indicate that the system may not be filtering correctly, leaving some microbial contaminants. That could include viruses and bacteria, metals, pesticides or organic chemicals from stormwater runoff.

Because of citizens’ concerns about water quality, Brown University’s Community Noise Lab moved from its primary work on noise pollution to testing water in homes, thanks to Erica Walker with the lab.

“I was born in Jackson in 1979, and I just remember Jackson is a very different place today than it was back then,” Walker said.

Walker and her Community Noise Lab have tested what she calls a “relatively small number of Jackson households” to help citizens know more.

“When they talk about things like dissolved oxygen or turbidity, or PFAS, that they understand it,” Walker said.

The data her lab has collected shows a consistent pattern.

“We test for pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity,” Walker said. “And last year, all of those measurements were higher, or they were just in a more negative direction.”

Walker said the testing in 2023 trended better.

“It falls in line with the third-party manager. We haven’t noticed any abnormalities when it comes to what we have tested,” Walker said.

The Community Noise Lab shares its’ data with JXN Water and with the residents whose water they tested. But Henifin said he believes those results could be questionable because of testing variables. He also said JXN Water is capable of addressing customers’ water test concerns in their homes directly.

“We’ve set up a contract with a local firm, so when we do get a complaint, to go and investigate it at the house,” Henifin said.

Steve Carpenter, director of delivery solutions for Jacobs, the engineering company contracted by JXN Water, supports the operations and maintenance teams working at the city’s water treatment plants.

“There’s a lot of study that goes into determining what the safe action levels are for drinking water regulations,” said Steve Carpenter, the director of delivery solutions for Jacobs. “We’re committed to ensuring that the water we treat at the treatment plants meet those regulations.”

Carpenter said public perception of Jackson’s water can’t be changed overnight for citizens who are frustrated and tapped out.

“Jacobs and JXN Water inherited a system with, you know, some legacy problems, and we’ve made a lot of great strides towards improving that,” Carpenter said.

Meanwhile, Walker plans to continue using her lab to address other issues Jacksonians face.

“There are air pollution issues, there are noise issues, there are soil quality issues, and so we test all of those things,” Walker said. “I want to provide as many resources as possible so people can go to sleep at night.”

Tap here for more information about the Community Noise Lab.