City Of Jackson: $7.6M Water Improvement Project Underway

Jackson MS

23 May, 2022

5:16 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Jackson: May 19, 2022 (Jackson, Miss.) – Work crews are in the beginning phase of installing a massive 48-inch (4-foot diameter) water transmission line to help improve water flow to South Jackson and other neighborhoods in Jackson. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, along with members of his Public Works team and representatives from Neel-Schaffer, commented on the historic infrastructure project at a Thursday morning press conference. "Today is truly an exciting day as we announce efforts to improve water issues in our City, particularly to the residents in South Jackson," Mayor Lumumba said. "This will improve the service for some of our residents who have suffered inequitably at the hands of our failing water system." Although the project has been on the drawing board for years, constructed with the overall project scheduled to be operational later this year. The improvements were designed to allow larger quantities of water to get to the distribution system at the J.H. Fewell Plant. Currently, the water travels through small-sized, older cast iron pipes and for a longer distance. "I'm very excited for this project," said Interim City Engineer Robert Lee. "It doesn't solve everything but it is a major cog in the overall system reliability, redundancy, and improvement." "In addition to South Jackson, this will also help Belhaven," said Hibbett Neel with Neel-Schaffer. "It will really open up that entire area of the City with more water and more pressure. So it is extremely important." The new line will benefit the following neighborhoods and areas: Mayor Lumumba ended his comments with a promise to continue to pursue infrastructure funds that will enable future projects. "I'd like to remind residents that we are in a continuing state of emergency because the systems we have are the systems we have until we replace them," he said. "Our fight to secure funding in order to improve our drinking water situation continues." This press release was produced by the City of Jackson. The views expressed here are the author's own.