Jackson Jambalaya

Just in time for the 2016 Easter Flood.

There's nothing like living in a third world country.

Forth world country and if Jackson was given 10 billion dollars to spend nothing good would happen. It would be gone in 5 years and still would not be able to drink the water.

If you have any complaints just drive on down to the water dept. and tell them. That is if you can get through the bombed out streets and do not get car jacked or shot.

Well we can't fix our water issues but we have two museums going up to totaling about 90 million. Thanks Haley. Real genius not combineing these concepts into one project. Wonder who did the bond work on those. If we can show Haley how he could make money on our water it would fixed next week.

I could have done without the 5am wake up call from the city...

10:47 I was on track with you until the Barbour part, and I'm no fan of him or RINOs. I too am amazed at what our govt is willing to shell out big bucks for while claiming there's not enough for basic functions. Why are Jackson's water issues the State's responsibility, though? It makes sense for the State to chip in some funding to help update the system, but the rest of your logic is beyond flawed.

Well, PittPanther, it's good they caught up with you before you started filling your swimming pool.

Shouldn't water plants have generators?

You bet that if this were occurring in Rankin, the Gov, Lt. Gov, and the legislature would bend over backward. The powerful always take care of their own.

As a Jackson resident who also got the 5 a.m. phone call, what I want to know is WHY the power went out and why it is apparently taking so long to get it back on and solve the problem. I've seen no mention of that anywhere. This happened LONG before today's storms started moving through so it's not weather related.

Of all public services, water in most all places makes money. I repeat water systems make money so there is no good reason the Jackson does not have money to support a top notch water system. State government has no duty to provide local services. That is what the laws creating city and other local government are for. Even with the airport the State is not taken over the facility just creating a better management structure. You not find a need in another part of the state for a water system to need help so your statement 12:31 is not true.

To 12:31: "... The powerful take care of their own." You mean like how they brought that Continental tire plant to 'their own?'

1:01 Not all water systems make money. they can generate a good cash flow if money is not put back to update the lines and there is no construction to extend lines to unserved areas. Most cities do not charge enough to put money back into the system because of the political consequences. Politicians are not worried about 20-30 years into the future. Also, water areas in area that are growing take capital to increase the capacity of the system.

Actually, sewer service is more expensive than water and water sales can subsidize the sewer. Rural systems that have no sewer do not have to worry about that expense.

Wait a second... Didn't the water dept say everyone should run their water a few minutes to purge residual lead from the line before using?!?

12:57, last I heard the problem was a short in the electronics that is difficult to find. They are operating on backup generator but that's only a band-aid. Power may come back on but the short may again reveal itself.

1:01, You saying that selling water makes money when run right but the politicians will not run it right.

Funny that there was enough money to build the water system but not enough money to keep it up. According to the news Jackson had the highest water and sewer prices around. Maybe they should check the pockets of all of the water dept. employees that collected for the water they were stealing from Jackson.

Instead of the Superman tee, His Honor can now wear an Aquaman tee. Problem solved.

Gosh, real sorry y'all got calls around 0500. Ours came in at 0430. And currently our water pressure is low.

Water problems will continue to become a national problem.
It's not maintenance, it's AGE.
You all know that if you buy an old home, you are going to have to re-plumb it and likely re-do the electrical.
Why you don't "get" then, that towns and cities are no different and there comes a point where you can't patch but have to replace is beyond me. And, how you replace will matter in the long run.
I've been buying and using filtered water for decades. I've refused to drink the water in many cities for decades. I did this because we've been warned about this problem for decades.
And, I will warn you all now ( though you won't listen ) that many newer communities and suburbs didn't spend the money they should have to get systems that would hold up for very long.
Many of you have forgotten or are unaware of how many Madison subdivisions had septic tanks and lagoons that leaked for decades. The basic infrastructure for Bear Creek was hardly state of the art! They never told you to boil in the old days when they should have. You had to READ what was in the infrequent water report you received! Madison building codes were all but non-existent and those that existed weren't enforced .It was so bad, that many homes aren't even grounded. Supervisors were in the culvert business and that's who you had to call when you built a house. This was still going on in the late 70s and early 80's.
Add to that that everywhere, increased population is continuing to strain old systems and existing water resources.
It would serve you all well to support finding ways to get State and Federal help solving water problems anywhere in this Nation as your turn will come...even for those of you who never travel and drink water on your trips!
Get your heads out of the sand and try to think beyond the fiscal quarter!

Age is one problem with Jackson's water problems. The big problem is one most water depts. have. They hire people who have absolutely no knowledge or experience. Most of Jackson's water problems can be dated back to the year the employees of the water dept. decided to increase the water pressure when there was a power outage then forgot to return the pressure to normal until the joints and valves were damaged and leaking.

The Fewel plant that had the power outage is 100 years old this year. While it has been maintained (to some degree) and updated (to some degree) and now Jackson has the Curtis plant that provides much of the city's needs, Fewel is still 100 year old technology. And many of the main distribution lines in the older (downtown) parts of town are also 100 years old - thus the problems. Look at when a neighborhood was built and you can quickly determine who are likely to have the most problems.

Over the past several decades, maintenance and updating of the water system was largely ignored, deciding instead to spend the revenue on other areas, significantly the landfill required by Subtitle D of EPA. Now we have an administration that is in so deep over their heads that they have no idea how to deal with it - the water, the sewer, the roads, etc - other than to maintain all employees of the city because "layoffs are bad".

Mayor T needs to get his head out of his arse and deal with the problems rather than try to bandaid everything in order to look like he is doing something ahead of next year's election. Be on the lookout soon - the movie premiere will be showing up. Signs everywhere about "what's about to happen" courtesy of his campaign PR director Mitzi who has been getting numerous contracts at our expense.

So, we cannot drink the water at all really, not even supposed to cook with is since you cannot "boil out lead." Help me understand... why would you even issue a boil water notice if the lead is still an issue and why, for Eff sakes would you offer me a discount for me to purchase a test to see what my water reads... WTF does the City water plant get paid to do if they are not processing it correctly? Im new to Jackson, not the area, worst BS ever... from the roads, to the water, to getting registered to vote in Hinds Co and getting a tag, its like one miserable employee followed by a disappointing experience after another.
I cannot speak for anyone else but.... I sure as shit could not do my job the way these people do and keep it.
Rant over.

1:48,If you were from the area,did you not know better than to move into Jackson.What were you thinking? This place has been going straight down will for many years.

1:48 - the city's water supply does not have lead - there are a few areas that have tested above limits, but they appear to be within the service lines, not coming out of the plant. The 'discounted' test kits are to determine if "Your House" has lead above limits - not for the general testing of the city's plant (which is done regularly by the health department). The boil water alert today is a totally different situation - an power shortage shut down the treatment plant and that will cause low pressure that leads to a boil water alert.

What is curious to me is your comment about registering to vote in Hinds County? Just how was that any harder than registering to vote in any other county in the state. Same one page form; same 'drop it off at the Clerk's office' or mail it to the clerk's office. What did you run into that caused that part of your rant?

Let's not forget that Kishia Powell is the highest paid city employee. And how many consultants has she hired and at what cost. It is both laughable and tragic. Has anyone looked into her credentials and past work experiences. Rumor has it she was "let go" from her last gig in Maryland. Interesting research for anyone who has the time and cares.