The Lumumba Administration did not tell the Jackson City Council about a damning EPA Emergency Administrative Order issued a year ago. The EPA inspected Jackson's water treatment plants in February, 2020 and discovered an imploding water system that is a health threat to the people it serves. Malfunctions, neglect, and plain old incompetence were the order of the day at the plants. EPA ordered Jackson to fix the problems immediately.
JJ broke the news about the buried EPA order yesterday. WLBT picked up where this website left off and reported, surprise, the Administration did not tell the City Council about the EPA's action. WLBT reported:
JJ reported yesterday:
The EPA inspected the two water plants from February 3 to February 7, 2020 and found Jackson's water system to be in a state of neglect and incompetence. Some key findings are:
* Coagulant is supposed to be added to water when it first enters the plant from the pearl. The chemical separates solids and sludge from the water. Removing such substances obviously reduces the turbidity (cloudiness) of the water. Streaming current detectors are used to adjust the proper coagulant dosing in the water. The EPA said the detectors were not "properly calibrated." Thus the water was not properly treated by coagulant as it was impossible to determine the accurate dosing. (a)
To make matters worse, the turbidity monitoring equipment did not work properly for at least three years thanks to neglect. (g)
* The instrument technician position became vacant in 2017. The position was never filled. The lack of a technician meant the "continuous monitoring equipment" at O.B. Curtis was "not repaired or calibrated" for over three years. Translation? PH meters, flow measurement devices, and other crucial equipment was not maintained. The EPA said the continuous pH meters were off by up to 2 units in some cases. The plant operators were somewhat operating in the dark as they simply could not know the quality of the water they were treating.
* Jackson did not conduct "jar tests" at either treatment plant even though the streaming current detectors did not work properly. The lack of jar tests means Jackson didn't use a back-up test in case the detectors did not work.
* Get ready to read about some incompetence. Jackson uses membranes and sand to filter water. Staff cleaned the membranes without using the necessary automatic monitoring equipment for pH and chlorine levels. Too much chlorine or improper pH levels can damage the membrane. Unfortunately, Jackson hasn't had the monitors for several years. (Read "e" on page 5.) It may not matter because..... Jackson can't "currently perform membrane integrity testing" at O.B. Curtis. In other words, the city can't really tell if the filters work.
* Jackson didn't "perform filter maintenance" at either water plant.
* UV devices disinfect the water. They are supposed to operate continuously. All UV reactors were offline for at least two weeks in January 2020 at Fewell. One reactor was down for at least a month. The record was somewhat batter at O.B. Curtis as the reactors were only offline two to ten days. (KF: Only.)
* Neglect and broken equipment meant Jackson's water was at a higher risk for giardia, cryptosporidium, and E. Coli.
The order is posted below. There is a useful list of definitions on the fourth page. Stay tuned.
Kingfish note: The Lumumba Administration also did not inform the City Council about the damage done to the sewer system by Rebel High Velocity Sewer Services and Gold Coast Commodities even though MDEQ notified the city in 2017. The City Council had to learn about the notices from this website - three years later.
Mr. Stokes suggesting privatizing the operation of the water treatment plants. Private contractors ran the plants under the Danks Administration. When did that change? Inquiring minds want to know.
78 comments:
Lumumba will be re-elected anyway
So, what are they (city council) gonna do about it? What can they do about it?
The word "impotent" comes to mind, as the council has no power in the current type of government at have. They only have power during budget negotiations.
Opposing candidates should be yelling this at the top of their lungs to the ignorant general election voters of Jackson.
BZ KF
In layman’s lingo, “the citizens of Jackson have been drinking sewage water” for at least a year. By the way, this report came out about the time the COVID virus exploded in Jackson.
He is literally poisoning the citizens yet they will re-elect the clown to serve another four years as their mayor.
And the sheep re-elected the POS two days ago. Pitiful.
Ashby Foote needs to grow a pair and stop saying he's "disappointed". How about "furious", "mad as hell", etc. etc.?
And there’s nothing the city council can do. Pathetic
Just more of the same s#%t. It's beyond sad, but you're just beating a dead horse. Common sense and responsibility left the city decades ago. If chukaway was to disappear tomorrow, things wouldn't get any better. Just another fool would be elected take his place.
The bigger question is why was this kept under wraps and nothing released via FOIA until after the primary election?
“Opposing candidates should be yelling this at the top of their lungs to the ignorant general election voters of Jackson.
BZ KF
April 8, 2021 at 2:59 PM”
You think the Jackson voters care? Take a look at their streets, schools, roads, utilities, etc. They don’t care.
They only have power during budget negotiations.
PP's ignorance on full display.
It’s all the fault of whitey and the GOP. - Ladd sheep
" Ashby Foote needs to grow a pair and stop saying he's "disappointed".
Agreed. But at least he will give an occasional soundbite to Maggie Wade.
WHVSAA
(What has Virgi said about anything) ?
Why didn’t epa send it to city council too?
They had tests after the ice storm and repairs. Can we drink the water or not? Is it still dangerous? Or were the test results a lie too?
Well that explains why I always had a weird feeling about the water In Jackson. Trust your instincts even though they kept saying boil water notice over. I noted infrastructure in worse shape than 4 years ago and violent crime noticeably worse on pace for back to back records and then this little 25 year old sweetheart gets quoted in CL today "I wanted to give The Mayor 4 more years to continue improving things". Really improving Jackson really. Can anyone with a straight face say things are better than 4 years ago and we had "wheres' the party" Yarber running things then Where will we be in 4 years?
And if and when the Federal government gives Little chok 200 million or whatever they give him and four years later realize he has pissed that away with consultants and meetings and studies. Heaven help Jackson some of us remember what you were at one one time.
One has to ask if the EPA mandated emergency actions had been pursued and completed before the ice storm if the system-wide debacle would have happened at all, or on that scale. Giving this fool Lumumba any money without serious spending oversight will be an abject mistake.
Elect a total greenhorn to be your mayor receive a total greenhorn managing your city.
Jackson's own version of Water-Gate.
Antar didn't inform the counsel because it was not a priority. It's just nuts and bolts and would be a distraction when you are creating a city of "dignity and self-determination". Your water may be poison but you have your dignity. Free the Land!
Hey, gumflapper, see if Delbert still wants the airport and on what terms. You might still be able to secure something out of it. But the clock is ticking.
3:40pm can toss am insult but can't show where I'm wrong. Incompetent.
3:59pm, that is exactly why Lumumba is unbeatable, because there are nothing but yahoos and losers running against him. At least Lumumba presents as professional, and can communicate with charitable foundations and negotiate with government representatives. Can you imagine the bail bonds lady negotiating with Phil Bryant about JPS school system ownership?
4:06pm, you're absolutely correct. Why should the mayor inform the council? What can they do? They have no money, they have no control over the employees. All they can do is flap their guns and act "concerned." They're just an annoyance.
Jackson really needs to move to the city manager form of government.
Politics 101: The time for bad news is AFTER the election not before.
Who ever said this guy was an idealist and radical like his dad. He's just another bullshit politician.
I realize every day how lucky I am that I moved away from this cesspool of a city.
Well there you go. I knew something was making Jackson voters dumber than rocks.
Why no word from state? Shows MSDH - Bill Moody was copied on this. Isn’t this a state agency oversight department? Seems like all are asleep at the wheel and counting days till state pension retirement.
I hate it like the rest of you.....but why is anyone surprised? This is what democrats do. That's not an empty statement, it's a statement based on facts and observations. Look at any democrat-run city or democrat-run public school system or democrat-run utility, etc. This is just how they operate. It may have been different (to some degree) in the past, but it's not today. Money infusions are for the benefit of those running things, not for the benefit of the recipients of those systems.
Prove me wrong.
I don't care what Melvin says, your reporting IS swole.
“ Why no word from state? Shows MSDH - Bill Moody was copied on this. Isn’t this a state agency oversight department? Seems like all are asleep at the wheel and counting days till state pension retirement.
April 8, 2021 at 4:35 PM”
That’s right. It’s always someone else’s fault when there is something broken in Jackson
and just to be clear, Lyin Lumumba was blasting the governor for COVID cases last year, and running around telling everyone that the state does not pay its bills, and this was out there.......where is that Democratic News agency he like to appear on?
When did it become a requirement for the king(hizz honah,the mayah) report to the court jesters?
Over Easter weekend this topic came up with regards to Jackson Water. My dad told stories about when he worked for the City of Laurel in the early-to-mid 2000s and Laurel had the same types of problems. Billing wrong, no bills, late bills, etc. I think Laurel ended up contracting out the water system to a private company to run the water system and it's been working correctly ever since. I don't think you'll ever get a functional water system paying minimum wage government employees.
3:40 PM
Jackson has a strong mayor-council system. Jokeway wouldn't have been able to appoint his lackeys to the JPD if it was a weak mayor system.
" I always had a weird feeling about the water In Jackson. Trust your instincts "
Absolutely !
I left my hometown of Jackson during 1989 and returned in 2008.
Upon my return, I was working in that very small strip of land that is a part of "The City Jackson" but is also in Madison County (a few yards north of I-220). Echelon Parkway to be exact.
First day back, I was told by a twenty-something Jacksonian to NEVER drink the water from any public drinking fountain within the building. I asked why not ?
She said that although we were technically in Madison County, the facility was connected to the Jackson water system.
Best advice I received that day.
You don’t the power of the dark side. I must obey my master.
“Why no word from state? Shows MSDH - Bill Moody was copied on this. Isn’t this a state agency oversight department? Seems like all are asleep at the wheel and counting days till state pension retirement.
April 8, 2021 at 4:35 PM”
That’s right. It’s always someone else’s fault when there is something broken in Jackson
Never said it was someone else’s fault. I’m saying if city isn’t going to report to citizens, then maybe the state should. But...that would be racist so probably the reason.
Normally MSDH would be involved but EPA is handling this one. Read the order. All those reports go to the feds.
This occurred under Bob Miller's watch. The feds need to drag his ass to jail just like they're doing with the idiots involved with the Flint Michigan debacle.
It's now Bumbling Biden's/President-in-waiting Harris' EPA. The EEO mayor will get a pass and a big check, known as rewarding bad behavior. Heck, the EPA will probably apologize.
From "The Bold New City" to "The City with Soul" to "Looks like Detroit, Tastes like Flint".
Hush hush. Keep it down now. Voices carry.
Let me say that things can happen in a water system. They might be intentional such as criminally poisoning the water. They may be accidental such as an honest mistake. Or maybe the issues are from lack of training, incompetence, or laziness. But no matter what goes wrong, if it potentially affects public health, the public should be notified. That is the worst part of this whole thing. All of this was kept from the public. People drank this water with no knowledge of these potential dangers.
@7:45 PM, I doubt the micro-management freak Chowkey wants Miller sharing what he really knows.
This is just the best news which will result in a new mayor. Perfect timing. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome out next mayor, the honorable Charlotte Reeves.
Days that mean all those notices that public works sent out about the water system, were lying?
I blame that Mr. Kingfish fellow! We was fine until he came along and stated mucking up our water with his leaky pipes, broken water meters and sewer in the back yard.
This action, or lack of action by Lumumba, should be considered criminal.
10:02. That redneck, white trash troll will never get elected, Jackson or not. Hahahahaha.
I've seen a cross section of a water filter from a residence in Jackson after the owner took a bandsaw to it. Looked like a scene from a science fiction movie just before the alien comes to life.
Past time for the responsibility of the attempted management of the city and its infrastructure, among other things, to be addressed. Things are probably too far gone for Snake Plissken to remedy the problems at this point.
Reeves comes in with 4% of the vote.
Just finished the New York Times article on the sad state of the people in North Korea. Same is happening to the UNEDUCATED people of Jackson. The difference is the Jackson has the opportunity to vote the bum out. Too bad they don't or won't and unfortunately there is no better candidate in the wings. Jackson has been ground away to nothing. Really sad.
Good Lord - this has the makings of a massive EPA/DOJ case against the State of Mississippi. The W.R. Grace & Beatrice toxic water trials of the 1980s comes to mind, except it's the city of Jackson, MS that's negligently poisoning its citizens. Either the state of the feds will have to ride to the rescue with the $$$$$$$$$.....but how much pain and suffering will have been caused by then?
Anybody want to invest in a couple of whole-house water filtration franchises in Jackson?
Want an eye-opener Jackson? Drain your water heater and watch what comes out. Seriously.
Nothing to see here. Antard says the only problem is 'administrative gaps'.
The problem is bad and affects the poor in Jackson without the means to drink and cook with bottled water full-time the most. The problem is worse than the ice-storm outage because during the outage people were not unknowingly consuming contaminated water.
But the DECEPTION is outrageous. Purposely hiding the truth from the Jackson public is totally unacceptable. There needs to be a criminal investigation. This deception MUST be totally exposed.
What's the best way to circumvent HIPAA restrictions and collect water borne illness cases for the City of Jackson? Asking for a lawyer friend.
6:42 - sorry troll - time to go back to geography class. Echelon Parkway is in Hinds County south of County Line Road. The only part of Jackson in Madison County is north of County Line Road bordered by the curve of 220 on the north and west and I-55 on the east. At one time, other parts of Madison might of been in Jackson but I think Jackson gave that up. Regardless, Echelon Parkway has always been in Hinds County
Snake Plissken? Democrat or Republican. Information, please?
Who cares where Echelon Parkway is?
Anyone else see the banner hanging from the waterworks bridge this morning? Clean Water is a Human Right.
Hello MDEQ?! Can you do something since Baby Choke sure isn't!
And Kenneth Stokes only thought he had a "raw boo boo" issue before.
The majority of Jackson's voters do not care!!!! It could be shown that they receiving their water straight from the Pearl River without treatment of any kind, but they'd still vote "black man" because he spouts blame against the whites who don't support Jackson.
They are happy with their crime ridden New Bold "Black City" because it is a blue voter utopia and they're in charge.
The city council is a laughing joke and the two white shysters are just happy to be there....
Baby formula was mixed with this water. Senior citizens drink this water. Either group can die quickly with GI issues from sewage tainted waters. Water fountains, hot water heaters, pool equipment, ice makers all need a thorough flush and cleanse. Whole house filtration is a must in Jackson. This is criminal
Someone needs to track down Bob Miller and get his take on all this.
If this had been the Mayors of Ridgeland, Madison, Pearl, Brandon, Flowood or Clinton hiding for over a year an EPA Emergency Administrative Order specifically about water treatment the JFP, the rump MFP and Barksdale today would be in full meltdown already. There'd be investigations, timelines, recriminations, sob stories, you name it.
Black Democrat Mayor of Jackson? Not a peep.
Looks like we can go back to calling Jackson “Crossroads of the South” as it used to be since we are at a different type of crossroads now....but when you have democratic leadership such as the Soul City, what can you expect? I guess he thought he could hide it long enough to become re elected....almost worked
Newsflash For 8:04: It's not a HIPAA violation to collect and release numbers as long as no personally identifying medical information is released by anybody in the insurance stream. Then your lawyer friend can advertise for 20,000 to come forward for a 'significant monetary award'. Each come-forwardee can receive about $84 while 'your friend' collects around half a mil.
..........................
How many council-persons will show up at the meetings now with a large bottled-water, just to make a point. I'd damned sure carry in a gallon, myself.
The media in Jackson MS should be ashamed. 48 hours following the posting and best I can tell not a single news agency has asked questions of Mr. Mayor and his cover-up and where is Mogan & Mogan & Swarzie and the rest of the oafs on TV waiting to suck up to the victims? Oh, I know their giving out free bottles of water! (sic).
If this had been the Mayors of Ridgeland, Madison, Pearl, Brandon, Flowood or Clinton hiding for over a year an EPA Emergency Administrative Order specifically about water treatment the JFP, the rump MFP and Barksdale today would be in full meltdown already. There'd be investigations, timelines, recriminations, sob stories, you name it.
Black Democrat Mayor of Jackson? Not a peep.
April 9, 2021 at 10:20 AM
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Exactly
Too bad this story broke AFTER the primary.
The Mayor's people are already calling it an "administrative gap." he will first try to take it into executive session, calling it "prospective or potential litigation." Then he will say they have been in conversations with EPA and are working with them. Then he will throw shade on the state, blaming it for refusing help for Jackson. Just watch.
You are correct KF. Never accept any responsibility for any issue at anytime under any circumstances. The media won't nail this fool. Let him poison the people of Jackson andpoint at every one else. Agreeing that he couldn't corrected all of the issues but to sweep that report under the rug he should be held accountable as those in control of the Flint Michigan water safety were.
8:24 AM should stop smoking dope at breakfast.
This sport model should try Folger's classic roast before they try to understand basic maps.
Should've heard Banks early in his radio show the other night. Bobbin' and weavin'. He started yapping about the conversations they were having about the water system. I suspect he didn't read the order or is too dumb to understand so he just ran his mouth off until he could take a caller.
I live in Jackson and have regularly gotten water reports.
If I missed one, I'm not upset. I already knew the water wasn't good.
That's why I have a filter. It's why I have bottled water available if needed.
I live in Jackson because I like my neighborhood, the proximity to hospitals, and shopping and entertainments I enjoy. My husband can be at his office in 7 minutes I like that I can run an errand and be back home in 15 minutes or less. I can get my pets to the vet in a hurry. That gives us more time for each other, family and friends.
Long ago, we lived in a major city in a high end neighborhood on a cul de sac. Every home was robbed of silver by professional thieves (not drugged out,low IQ amateurs) except ours. We had a lot of silver and it could be seen through a window, but we also knew how to secure our home. We still do.
Our minority neighbors in our majority white neighborhood are much loved. Much nicer than a few who moved to Madison. They are great neighbors and all are professionals.
City dwelling isn't for everyone. If you are happy in the suburbs or country, I'm happy for you. I think it doesn't speak well of you that you can't accept that not everyone has the same priorities or fears as you do .
9:34 - Tell us the process you use for the ice maker in your refrigerator/freezer. Or does the bourbon kill the bacteria?
Hey, maybe his honor can do a Stokes and get the city council to pass a resolution saying there is no water problems and all is well in Jackson and use 9:34 as a lone voice of the huddled masses...
2:28. My refrigerator has a filter built into it. Most relatively newer ones do. I am sorry you can't afford one.
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