Analysis of documents obtained by the Northside Sun about the ongoing problems with the Jackson water system show that the state regulators had been issuing warnings to city officials to make repairs and hire key personnel at the city’s two water treatment plants since 2017.
Two of those warnings over backup generators and inability of the city system to handle the interoperability of one or more of its components proved to be a predictor of future events.
The inspection reports from 2017 to 2018 show that inspectors from the state Department of Health’s Bureau of Public Water Supply told the city of Jackson they needed to hire enough Class A certified operators, provide additional generators to run the water treatment plants because the system would be unable to provide water during a prolonged water outage, cut down on the water lost in the distribution system (estimated in the reports at 50 percent), problems with the filtration membranes and not meeting the federal alkalinity standard.
All four inspection reports faulted the city for not having enough backup generators to provide water pressure during a prolonged power outage like the one endured by parts of the city during the February ice storm that resulted in the loss of water service for weeks to parts of the city.
Inspection reports: 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
The MSDH inspectors told the city in November 2019 that it needs both treatment plants and the city’s wells in south Jackson online to provide water for all of its customers. According to the inspection report, if either of the plants or some of the wells are inoperable, the system wouldn’t have the ability to compensate.
On April 30, there was an electrical fire at the O.B. Curtis plant that shut down one of the plant's pumps and caused the issuance of a boil water notice citywide. The citywide boil water notice wasn’t lifted until May 3.
There also has been an ongoing problem with some of the city’s nine groundwater wells, six of which are in operation. Since March, the city has endured numerous problems with the wells that feed south Jackson and the city of Byram.
The alkalinity standard is important because it acts as a buffer if any changes are made to pH level in the drinking water. The city has struggled to meet the federal standard on pH levels that can corrode some of the older lead pipes in the system and allow lead to leak into the drinking water.
Hiring vital positions at the two treatment plants has been an ongoing problem for the city due to the low pay and residency requirements and all four inspection reports remind the city that the two treatment plants — O.B.Curtis located on the Ross Barnett Reservoir and J.H. Fewell located on the Pearl River near Interstate 55 — need to be fully staff with licensed operators and capable maintenance staff.
The city’s website is still advertising two instrument technician positions at O.B. Curtis and three water plant operator positions at J.H. Fewell that are open until filled. Both positions are critical since instrumentation technicians service the instruments that control the filtration process while operators control and monitor the treatment process, take samples and perform adjustments if required.
The instrumentation positions only pay $13.64 per hour and the employee must establish residence in the city limits. One instrumentation position has been open since April 13, 2018 and the other since March 10. According to Glassdoor.com, the average salary nationally for an instrumentation technician is $68,024. Assuming a 40-hour work week and not including overtime, Jackson pays less than half of that at $28,371.
The three operator positions pay even less at $12.72 per hour. Assuming a 40-hour work week, that’s only $26,457 without any overtime, far below the national average on Glassdoor.com of $42,973 annually. Two have been open since April 2019 and the other since August 5, 2020.
The Northside Sun filed Freedom of Information Act requests for all emails and other written communications between the city of Jackson, the Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 4.
The city refused to provide the emails, citing attorney/client privilege. The MSDH and the EPA approved the requests and have either provided the documents or are in the process of providing them.
