Infrastructure Past, Present, and Future Casebook/Jackson, MS Water and Wastewater Treatment

This casebook is a case study on Water and Wastewater Treatment in Jackson, MS by Aurozo Niaz, Alejandra Ortiz, Chloe Shade, and Scott Tatum, as part of the Infrastructure Past, Present and Future: GOVT 490-004 (Synthesis Seminar for Policy & Government) / CEIE 499-002 (Special Topics in Civil Engineering) Fall 2023 course at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government and the Volgenau School of Engineering, and Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering. Under the instruction of Professor Jonathan Gifford.

Summary

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) perform initial assessments at O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant - September 2022

The provision of clean drinking water is one of the core duties of municipal government. Despite maintaining a fairly straightforward mandate, there are an array of obstacles that make fulfilling it challenging.

The Jackson, Mississippi water crisis of February 2021 serves as a pertinent case study in the intersection of extreme weather events, decaying infrastructure, environmental justice concerns, and institutional failures. The crisis was expedited by a severe winter storm, which unveiled the deficiencies of the city’s water infrastructure. These conditions were exacerbated by the city's aging water systems, distinguished by crumbling pipes and treatment facilities.

Notably, the crisis disproportionately impacted communities that were predominantly Black, underscoring the racial disparities in infrastructure investment and disaster preparedness. This preventable water crisis underscores the imperativeness of addressing infrastructure restoration, climate resilience, and environmental justice in historically segregated areas, with implications for public policy, equity, and the equitable distribution of essential resources.

List of Actors

The United States Environmental Protection Agency: This agency is responsible for protecting the health of the environment and the health of humans. The EPA Administrator, Michael S. Regan, visited Jackson, Mississippi as a part of his Journey to Justice tour the year prior to the Jackson water crisis in August 2022. In a statement Regan published after meeting with Jackson Mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, he acknowledged that the people of Jackson have faced decades of injustices because they have not been protected and have not been provided with safe water nor a reliable water system. The city of Jackson had issued about “300 boil notices over the past two years and had multiple line breaks during the same timeframe” before the water crisis in 2022.

Seal of the Environmental Protection Agency

Regan was aware of the poor quality and conditions of Jackson’s water systems and continued to advocate for the people of Jackson even before the 2022 water crisis. Now after the water crisis, the EPA along with the mayor of Jackson, work together to bring safe and reliable water to the people of Jackson.

Chokwe Antar Lumumba: He was the mayor of Jackson during the water crisis in August 2022.  He advocates for the people of Jackson and worked with the EPA to bring awareness to the poor quality of the water system infrastructure and unsafe drinking water in Jackson. Similarly, to the EPA, he believes that the people of Jackson and their need for a better water system infrastructure has been neglected because of racial inequality. As a democratic mayor in a state with a Republican majority , he faced challenges to get the necessary resources to address the infrastructure issues.

Governor Tate Reeves: He is a Republican governor who assumed office in 2020. One of the factors that contributed to the failure of the Jackson water system was their unreliable billing system, so it was a challenge to collect payments. This meant there was little to no revenue coming int that could be used to repair/maintain the water system. This was a major contribution to the Jackson water crisis. In 2020, Reeves vetoed a bill that would have created payment plans for people to pay their overdue payments. This would have helped collect revenue to fund the maintenance/repair of the Jackson water system infrastructure.

Seal of FEMA

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): FEMA comes to Jackson to provide financial assistance, technical assistance, and to distribute other resources, such as water bottles. Because President declares a 90-day state of emergency for the city of Jackson, it authorizes the use of federal funds to cover 75% of costs related to the water crisis emergency.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA): MEMA worked in partnership with FEMA to help the people of Jackson, MS during the water crisis. The Public Assistance program was run by MEMA, so people applied through their application for resources and financial assistance. FEMA covered 75% while MEMA covered the other 25%.

Timeline of Events

• 1914:
  • Fewell Plant is built and still operates today.
• 1963:
  • Construction ends for the Ross Barnett Reservoir, Jackson’s largest source of drinking water. When the reservoir gets too high, though, water discharges into the Pearl River, which flows through Jackson.
• 1970s:
  • White flight: More than 11,000 white families leave Jackson to avoid integrated schools.
  • White Jackson families pull 5,000 children from local schools in 1970.
• 1985:
  • Jackson prepares its original Water Master Plan, outlining recommended maintenance and repairs for its water infrastructure. The plan will be updated in 1997 and again in 2012.
• 1993:
  • O.B. Curtis Plant, the city’s primary water plant, is built near the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
• 2010:
  • A storm causes hundreds of water mains to burst, leaving residents without water for weeks.
• 2012:
  • An American Water Works Association journal finds Jackson’s pipeline repair needs are more than nine times higher than the national average for similarly sized systems.
  • Jackson is put under a federal consent decree for violating the Clean Water Act.
• 2013:
  • The Jackson Master Plan is updated to reflect nearly $600 million in needed infrastructure updates and repairs.
  • More than 112 miles of water pipes are still unlined cast iron. In many cases, the eroding pipes are a century old.
  • Unaccounted-for water has increased from 19% in 1985 to 26% in 2012.
  • More than 97 miles of water mains running beneath Jackson are less than 6 inches in diameter, causing more than 40% of all water main breaks.
• 2014:
  • A winter storm results in water outages.
• 2018:
  • Another freeze causes pipes to burst and leaves residents without water.
• 2019:
  • More than 3 billion gallons of sewage is released into the Pearl River. Jackson residents are told to avoid water contact activities such as swimming, wading, and fishing.
• 2020:
  • Record rainfall in the first three months overflows the city’s sewage system and dumps nearly a half-billion gallons of raw sewage and 5.7 billion gallons of minimally treated sewage into the Pearl River.
  • An EPA report finds that Jackson’s water distribution system has numerous leaks and line breaks, with crews reportedly repairing five or six each day.
  • In June, Gov. Tate Reeves vetoes a bipartisan bill that would have helped Jackson use a flexible payment plans system to collect overdue payments and fund the water system.
• 2021:
  • A storm in February leaves Jackson residents with no drinking water for a month.
  • On March 3, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba writes to Governor Reeves, outlining the city’s urgent need for $47 million for immediate repairs and improvements.
  • In May, Mississippi receives the first half of $1.8 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act for pandemic-related expenses and for water, sewer, and broadband.
• 2022:
  • In April, the state Legislature votes to allow cities such as Jackson to apply for funding for water and sewer projects with a one-to-one match using their own direct ARPA funds.
  • On Aug. 29, floodwaters from the Ross Barnett Reservoir and Pearl River overwhelm Jackson’s primary water treatment plant, causing plant system failure and leaving 153,000 residents without potable drinking water and/or water pressure to flush toilets.
  • On Aug. 30, President Biden declares a 90-day state of emergency, authorizing federal funds to cover 75% of all costs related to the emergency.
  • On Nov. 4, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality awards Jackson $35.6 million, which the city matches for a total of $71 million.
  • On Nov. 29, the U.S. Department of Justice files a complaint against Jackson alleging failure to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
• 2023:
  • In May, Henifin says Jackson doesn’t have the money to pay costs until more federal funds arrive.
  • On May 2, the SPLC files a complaint with the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity regarding discrimination in the allocation and disbursement of millions of federal dollars Mississippi received from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Narrative of the Case

Two Treatment Plans

Image of Jackson, MS with the Ross Barnett Reservoir to the North

Two principal plants supplied Jackson, Mississippi with its water supply: the J. H. Fewell plant built in 1914 and the O. B. Curtis plant built in 1993. Together these plants provided drinking water to a total of around 250,000 people in and around Jackson. While both plants service the same region, they drew from different sources. While the Fewell plant treated water coming from the Pearl river, the Curtis plant treated the water within the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

Years of Neglect

In 2012, the EPA ruled that the city of Jackson had violated the Clean Water Act via the leakage and overflow of untreated raw sewage into the water supply. In addition to this, there were a number of unauthorized bypasses within the Savanna Street Wastewater Treatment Plant which contributed to the injunction.

Mandated by the injunction to improve maintenance, city officials were limited in funding and finances by the state government. This contributed to a gradual degradation of Jackson's water infrastructure over the decade, as vital repairs went underfunded and contributed to the crisis that began in 2022.

2022 Water Crisis (August - November 2022)

Following historic rainfall which flooded the Pearl River, the Curtis plant was overwhelmed with excess water from the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Already relying on backup pumps due to previous damage, city officials altered the treatment method at the plant, resulting in a decrease in water pressure and quality.

A state of emergency was declared, with most of Jackson's citizens lacking water in the immediate aftermath of the plant's failure. Similar breakdowns at the Fewell plant contributed to the crisis. A boil water notice went into effect for the city, straining the resources of local hospitals. While the systems were mostly restored by September 4th, concerns remained over water quality and potential lead poisoning. Eventually, however, the boil advisory was revoked for Jackson on September 14th and the EPA declared the water safe to drink later in late October.

Funding and Financing

The Jackson, MS water system infrastructure is funded by the people of Jackson, who are the recipients of the services. The water system is a utility, so residents and businesses who use its services have to pay the fees/bill. This is the water systems main source of revenue, so without it, it makes it difficult to maintain and improve the water system infrastructure.

Jackson, MS struggled to collect monthly payments from its residents because of an unreliable billing system and residents not being able to make their monthly payments. All of this contributed to the failure of the water system because without that revenue, the city did not have the financial resources that were needed to address the issues of the water system.

When President Biden declared a state of emergency in Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson was granted federal funds to assist with the crisis. The funds would cover up to 75% of all emergency related costs.

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) “awards Jackson $35.6 million, which the city matches for a total of $71 million”

In June 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Jackson, Mississippi will receive $115 million in funding to support water infrastructure that will ensure safe and reliable drinking water for residents. The funding comes from Congressional appropriations for the 2023 federal budget. The Biden-Harris administration are advocates for Jackson, MS to receive this funding to ensure residents have access to clean, safe drinking water.

Institutional Arrangements

A municipality's water supply and related services are usually managed by several important institutions and entities. Their contributions to the crisis emerged from several factors, including budget decisions, infrastructure management, regulatory oversight, and emergency preparedness. In tandem, these agencies strive to ensure that communities have access to a dependable and safe supply of water. Municipal water systems are often managed by the following institutions, albeit specific arrangements may differ from one municipality to the next:

The management and operation of the water system were under the jurisdiction of the Jackson Department of Public Works and its water division. Challenges with these organizational structures, particularly inadequate financing, and staffing shortages, made it increasingly difficult for the agency to effectively manage and mitigate the issue. Regulatory agencies at the state and federal levels, including O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), establish water quality standards and monitor adherence.

A separate sanitary sewer system is operated and owned by the City of Jackson, Mississippi. Savanna Street, Presidential Hills, and Trahon wastewater treatment plants, as well as a wastewater collection and transmission system, constitute a component of Jackson's system. Jackson violated the terms of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and Section 301 of the Clean Water Act. A total of over 2,300 sanitary sewer overflows, forbidden bypasses, malfunctions in operation and maintenance, and effluent limit violations account for Jackson's alleged offenses.

Determining water quality standards as well as ensuring that local, state, and federal laws are complied with are the responsibilities of the MDEQ and the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant. In an effort to manage the emergency during the water crisis, the MDEQ collaborated with local authorities. They provided guidance and issued advisories, such as boil-water advisories, to safeguard the public's health. They assisted in organizing the emergency response efforts to make certain the residents were conscious of the situation. The MDEQ's response amid the crisis, as described by critics, was not as immediate as it deserved to be. The MDEQ, municipalities, and residents were not corresponding properly or effectively, which raised concerns. To prevent or mitigate similar crises in the future, the incident emphasizes the significance of extensive infrastructure investment, regulatory oversight, and efficient emergency response at the state level.

Policy Issues

Privatization

In response to the failures Jackson's wastewater treatment system, Governor Reeves floated the idea of privatizing the plants currently operated by the city government. This plan, however, has encountered opposition from city officials who fear the plan could increase costs. Proponents have countered by asserting the increased costs would result in greater quality service from the treatment plants.

Lead Pipes

Lead pipes have come into focus as well as a continuing factor in Jackson's water security. Many residents fear lead contamination in the wake of the crisis. Already, 1,800 lawsuits have been filed against city and state officials for lead water contamination.

Lessons and Takeaways

Neglecting Water Infrastructure Can Have Dire Consequences for Communities, Particularly Those with Limited Resources:

Neglecting water infrastructure, as illuminated by the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis, can have profound repercussions for communities, especially those already grappling with limited resources. This case underscores the essential, albeit often overlooked, role that infrastructure plays as the backbone of any community. Prolonged neglect or underfunding of maintenance renders the entire water system vulnerable to failure, thereby endangering public health, safety, and economic stability. Neglecting water infrastructure may lead to water contamination, service interruptions, and unsanitary conditions, all of which pose significant health risks to the population. In Jackson, residents faced hurdles in accessing clean water for basic necessities such as drinking, bathing, and sanitation. The water crisis also led to economic consequences that affected local businesses, property values, and potential investments, exacerbating the inadequate funding necessary to address the issue. Communities that overlook infrastructure investment may inadvertently deter potential economic development opportunities that could have secured additional financial support. The crisis in Jackson disproportionately affected marginalized communities, underscoring the social inequalities directly linked to insufficient infrastructure. Given the historical context of racial discrimination in the area, the development of this inequity is unmistakable, accentuating the urgency of addressing these disparities and ensuring that all residents enjoy equitable access to essential services.

Bureaucratic Hurdles Can Delay Emergency Responses:

The Jackson water crisis casts a spotlight on the difficulties inherent in bureaucratic obstacles during emergencies. In crises, the necessity of efficient, streamlined processes is a cornerstone to prevent immediate responses from being delayed by bureaucratic semantic procedures. In this instance, the community endured significant suffering due to the shortcomings of these inefficient bureaucratic procedures. Effective communication and coordination among various levels of government, regulatory bodies, and local authorities are of utmost importance. Delays in decision-making and resource allocation exacerbate the impact of the crisis. While regulatory oversight is indispensable to maintain water quality and safety, it should be balanced with the need for swift response and flexibility during emergencies, taking into account that achieving compliance without inducing delays is a complex challenge. Involving the affected community in emergency response and decision-making can help bridge the gap between bureaucratic processes and the immediate needs of residents, leading to more effective and equitable responses. By using a constituent-first approach and involving the voices of the community in a comprehensive manner will ensure that proposed solutions actually fit the needs and characteristics of the community experiencing the crisis.

Adequate Funding for Infrastructure Maintenance is Essential for Preventing Future Crises:

The Jackson water crisis underscores the critical significance of consistent and sufficient funding for the maintenance, repair, and upgrading of infrastructure. Inadequate financial support leaves water systems vulnerable to deterioration, potentially resulting in recurrent crises. Adequate funding not only sustains water infrastructure but also ensures its resilience against environmental and operational challenges. It facilitates routine maintenance and proactive replacement of aging components. Investing in infrastructure maintenance often proves more cost-effective in the long run. Preventive maintenance and timely upgrades can avert the significantly higher costs associated with emergency repairs and crisis management. Adequate allocation of funding for infrastructure maintenance in communities with limited resources represents an essential component of valuing social responsibility and equity for that community. Ensuring access to clean and safe water is a fundamental right that should be protected.

In conclusion, the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis stands as a stark reminder of the dire consequences of neglecting water infrastructure. The lessons learned underscore the importance of proactive investment, streamlined emergency response processes, and an equitable approach to confronting infrastructure challenges. These insights can guide policies and practices in other communities, helping to avert comparable crises in the future and champion the well-being of all residents, irrespective of their economic status.

Discussion Questions

1. How can other cities learn from Jackson's experience in terms of infrastructure maintenance and funding?
2. What is the role of federal agencies in addressing water crises at the local level?
3. How can equitable access to clean water be ensured in marginalized communities?
4. What steps should be taken to improve emergency preparedness for similar crises in the future?