As the clock struck midnight the morning of June 24, Harvey Johnson Jr., mayor of Jackson, received a telephone call informing him that the water pressure was dropping in parts of northeast Jackson.
“Because of the dedication and hard work of city employees who monitor our water system on a daily basis and their quick response time, we implemented a plan of action,” Johnson said. “I was on the phone what seemed like every two hours talking with our crew members about what we were going to do, being advised of action taken and how best to disseminate information.”
The problem was pinpointed shortly before 5 a.m. and the city issued a state of emergency and implemented a boil water alert at 5:30 a.m.
“You have to understand how wide this city is stretched and for our crew members to nail it down in the short time span that they did is absolutely commendable,” Johnson said.
At issue was a 5-year-old, 54-inch water main connected to the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant. “It experienced a mechanical failure,” added Johnson. “It blew a cap, and of course no one was expecting this but we do understand that it wasn’t meant to last forever.”
Johnson said this problem was in no way connected to the water crisis that the city experienced a few months ago. “This was totally different but handled with the same type of aggression,” Johnson said.
When asked about the city’s aging infrastructure and how it [city] would forge ahead in terms of trying to alleviate future problems, Johnson was very candid.
“It’s easy to identify problems but we must realize that some solutions are very costly and we could possibly call on the citizens to help with this problem by asking for a rate increase in water/sewer fees,” Johnson said. “We are very concerned with what is happening in our city and we have been talking to our state and federal leaders about helping us.”
Some money has been allocated.
“Our legislature during the last legislative session made a commitment of six million dollars. We’ve gone to our federal elected officials and have been authorized 10 million up to 25 million dollars,” Johnson said. “It is important to stress here that this has been authorized and now must be appropriated.”
Johnson noted that a 1997 study indicated that the price tab then was over one hundred million dollars. “That was then and I’m sure things have changed and the price tag is perhaps much higher,” he added.
Johnson has a real working knowledge of how the system operates and what it will take to eradicate future problems. “We are looking to move to a one water system and move away from the well system that is mainly used in south Jackson,” he said. “All indications are the well system has so many restrictions and requirements and based on test and results, it perhaps is not as safe as the one we use for the majority of our city.”
Johnson also noted that in addition to water emergencies there are other emergencies that the city has the potential to face especially in the wake of what is predicted to be an active hurricane season. “I want to assure the public that we are prepared and that we are working hard everyday to ensure their safety,” he said, adding, “We have charged Thelman Boyd (former public works director) with the responsibility of heading up our emergency task force.”
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