Judge Wingate held a status update on the Jackson water system that lasted all day Wednesday Much was discussed, including JXN Water's proposed rate hike. Instead of publishing one monster post, JJ is breaking the proceedings down into more manageable bites.
Jackson's water system has made much progress but might go back to where it once was if allowed to go broke again. So said JXN Water Manager Ted Henifin in federal court Wednesday.
Judge Wingate scheduled a status update on the water/sewer system for November 13 but moved it up after Mr. Henifin said he was going to raise water/sewer rates in December.
The hearing opened with Judge Wingate applauding the Receiver's repair of Jackson's water and sewer systems. The Ivy League jurist said the substantial progress made was often lost in all the talk about water rates. "I think you are proud of where JXN Water has arrived," said Judge Wingate.
Judge Wingate quizzed the Receiver about boil water notices. "Boil water alerts were a thing of constant occurrence when you took this thing over. At one point they were occurring almost every 10-20 days if not more frequently," observed the judge.
Mr. Henifin agreed before stating most boil water notices are now short-term. During the last quarter, boil water notices last only three days and affected approximately 30 residents. Only two citywide boil water notices have taken place under the JXN Water regime.
One took place in January 2024 because of a lab error at the Mississippi State Department of Health. JXN Water retested the water the same day the notice was issued. The Health Department promptly rescinded the notice within 24 hours. The other city-wide boil water notice took place during a winter storm in 2023 shortly after JXN Water assumed control of the system.
The Receiver reported progress made in the rest of the water system as well. Jackson was losing 36 million gallons of water per day when JXN Water assumed control of the system. It is now losing 18 million gallons a day. Mr. Henifin expects the water loss to shrink as more repairs are made.
"Water quality was a 7 out of 10 when I took over. It is a ten now," said Mr. Henefin. Jackson's water quality meets all EPA requirements and is the best it's been since 2014.
One major problem for Jackson's water system was valve closures. Many valves were closed for repairs and never re-opened, wreacking havoc with the system's pressure. JXN Water discovered 4,000 valves that were closed off. The valves were reopened, thus increasing water pressure as well as water circulation.
Major improvements have been made at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant as well. The plant was putting out water with a psi of 90 in December 2022. The high pressure created more leaks. Mr. Henifin said the pressure is no 75 psi as it should be, reducing the leaks.
The combination of reduced water loss, better pressure, and increased production means JXN Water took half of O.B. Curtis down for eight weeks without any slowdown. "No one noticed it was operating at half-capacity. In the past, we would have lost the system," said the Receiver.
Judge Wingate applauded the progress: "That's a milestone. There was a time where the system would be overloaded and the pumps would go out."
Mr. Henifin provided a sobering observation about the failure of the Jackson water system. "The water crisis' root cause was lack of financial resources. The City Council was unwilling to raise rates and the administration was unwilling to collect revenues. It was years of neglect on the financial side. That has created the culture we are battling now. We're battling over a decade or more of this. If we want to go back to where we were before 2022, we need to starve the system of the financial resources," said Mr. Henifin.
24 comments:
Democrats can't even do the most basic things, water, lights roads, law enforcement, I mean damn.
If they run Ted off, Jackson will have no water and what little water there is, will be under a boil notice.
Under Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba how many boil notices should have been issued but were not issued because 'reasons'?
It ain't like Ted is doing us poor Southerners a favor. He's making more money that 80% of the people working in Mississippi.
I'm sure happy to see Ted get credit for
all the work that's been done and that
continues to happen.
11:10 he's worth every dollar he gets. He didn't decide his salary.
Ted's hefty salary of $500, 000 a year has motivated him to stay in Mississippi. Where else at his age can he make $500,000 a year with the experience he? Give me a break......
Please do not. run Ted off. He is worth what he is paid.
He and Capitol Police are saving Jackson.
Raise the rates. Nothing is free.
It will keep flowing for the straight pipers, whose numbers are substantial.
@11:10 - you’re so Right! We need another cheap operator to run this system! I mean we did it before Right? Right? When you Pay peanuts you get Monkeys. But then I guess you’re ’that guy’ that buys recap tires too. Got you a Deal on Once Used toilet paper, save you some money….
11:10 he's doing JACKSON a favor. All other southerners, as you call them, live in places that don't seem to have a problem maintaining a water system.
Ted should be TIME person of the year!
Jackson would be so screwed without Ted. Ill pay CMU water rates to keep Ted!
Used TP is ok but you just have to rinse it out real good first.
Henifin is worth every penny he's being paid.
$400K.
Is Sister Rukia still trying to run Ted off?
The citizens of Jackson are not paying Ted's salary.
Thank you Ted! We need to do what New Orleans residents did about the city trying to cancel the contract with IV Waste (company that picks up trash and powerwashes the streets nightly throughout French Quarter/Bourbon) and start a #KeepTed movement! Hell, pay him more!!
No! The United States is paying Ted
Gosh, I hope it will return. The last time Jackson went through such a debacle, I got tired of my Jackson friends coming to my Madison home to shower,etc. but, it did reinforce my years ago decision to leave Jackson and move to a very small, but growing little town named Madison.
I'm a big fan of Henifin; and think he is doing a great job at repairing the system and managing the treatment plants. But - it is not to be said that he is the only person that could do this; there are plenty of other folks (none that were associated with the system prior to the federal takeover) that could do the same. All that to say, glad to have him here, even with his socialist views of how water bills should be calculated - but just as is true with damn near every professional, they can be replaced. So let's don't go hanging a halo over his head and think that when he leaves - which he will do at some point in the future - the system will automatically revert to the incompent operation that we suffered through under Lumumba, and let's don't forget Yarber who started the mess.
And, he is worth the money he is getting paid - which has been grossly exageratted by some. The $400,000 includes his living expenses here, including his travel to Mississippi from his home which he still maintains in Virginia. Its not like he took this job as a 'forever' job, or even a short-term permanent job (kinda like SEC coaches do) and moved here with his family. This is, and was intended to be, a short-term contract employment. Half of that 'salary' is expenses that he incurres due to having to maintain a second living arrangement.
All that said, the one leg of the stool that he has failed at is fixing the billing and collection system, which includes the customer service operation. Over three years JxnWater still has not figured out how to get a bill to all of its customers - with only 3/4 or so of them receiving a bill of any kind. This isn't rocket surgery or brain science; utilities all over the country have to deal with this every day. Yes, it was all f**ked when he took it over - but so were the treatment plants, the distribution and collection system, along with all of the political turmoil included. He's fixed two legs - but its time for him to fix the third; its something I think he can - and for that matter will - do, and when he does I hope he is able to transfer the operation to a regional authority that can continue his good works.
Reply to 12:38PM "The citizens of Jackson are not paying Ted's salary."
Negative! it's a collective His compensation is paid through JXN Water's operational budget, which is primarily funded by a combination of federal grants and ----------> revenue from customer water sewer bills< aka The Citizens! ya'll just be throwing stuff against the wall & hope it stick
@2:10 good post. Well done and accurate. My concern with a regional authority would lie in who appoints the board members. If the board members are appointed by the mayor and city council, we might end up with idiot board members who then hire an idiot manager. You have to have a good, strong, professional board who knows how to hire a good, strong, professional manager.
Post a Comment