JACKSON, Miss. (AP) 鈥 Water is flowing again to nearly all of Mississippi鈥檚 capital city.
It鈥檚 a stark contrast from , when Jackson鈥檚 150,000 residents could never be sure what, if anything, would flow from their taps when they needed a drink, a shower or to flush the toilet. The majority-Black city also faced occasional warnings that their water could be contaminated and needed to be boiled, and people had to wait in line to get fresh water.
The turnaround has been shepherded by Ted Henifin, a seasoned utility manager appointed last year as interim head of the . He鈥檚 faced pushback from some residents over lingering water quality concerns, legal hurdles to his plan to ensure low income people don鈥檛 pay more for water, and has expanded his purview to include fixing the sewer system.
In an interview with The Associated Press last week, he offered an insider's look at the latest chapter in a saga that blends elements of racial disparity, crumbling infrastructure and .
SYSTEM REBOOT
Last August and September, infrastructure breakdowns caused many people in Jackson to go days and weeks without safe running water. A federal judge brought Henifin from Virginia .
Since then, he says he鈥檚 been laying the groundwork for an improved water network.
鈥淭he system is acting like what I would consider a normal water system for a city of 150,000,鈥 Henifin said. 鈥淚n the future, we shouldn鈥檛 have city-wide boil water notices.鈥
Day-to-day efforts have included fixing valves and broken pipes from which gallons of wasted water once spilled into creeks and up through fire hydrants.
WATER PRICING 鈥 WHO PAYS?
One of Henifin鈥檚 top priorities has been increasing Jackson鈥檚 revenue collection from the water system without raising rates in a city where roughly a quarter of the population lives in poverty. He initially floated a plan to price water based on property values to shift the burden away from Jackson鈥檚 poorest residents.
Months later, the Mississippi Legislature mandating that water be billed based on personal consumption, not other factors like property values. Henifin said he has adapted to that new legal reality with a proposal he鈥檒l share before the end of the year. He declined to offer details about the proposal, as he still needs to run it by city officials. But he believes it addresses concerns from the Democratic-led city and the Republican-controlled Legislature.
鈥淚鈥檝e spent a lot of time working within the confines of that law, and I think we鈥檝e developed a proposal,鈥 Henifin said. 鈥淲e have talked to the state about it to make sure we don鈥檛 run into a similar buzzsaw.
鈥淚 think other utilities across the country are going to look hard at the proposal as a new method of helping the lower socio-economic demographic be able to afford water,鈥 he said.
Henifin said the city鈥檚 water bill collection rate has gone from 56% in the second quarter to over 62% in the third quarter. 鈥淧eople are voting with their money,鈥 he said.
EXTENDED TIMELINE
When he first arrived, Henifin he would race to finish his work in one year or less. Now, he has decided to manage the water and sewer systems for up to four years.
The extended timeframe will allow him to implement more of the $600 million trove of federal funds allotted to help the city's water system, most of which hasn鈥檛 been spent yet. He also said he feels more connected to the community than when he first moved to Jackson.
鈥淭he small staff we鈥檝e created, the contractors that have stepped up, I just can鈥檛 walk away from that,鈥 Henifin said.
PUSHBACK FROM ACTIVISTS
In September, who want more of a say over water system reforms asked to join a federal lawsuit against the city for violating safe water standards.
Henifin said the activists don't speak for most people in the city.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very frustrating to think that in probably any context, whether it鈥檚 in Jackson or some other national conversation in some other city, a small group of well-connected and organized people can pass themselves off as a representative of the community," Henifin said.
He said public comments reviewed by the Department of Justice have been overwhelmingly supportive. The support extends across racial lines, he said.
鈥淚 hear that in the community all over the place,鈥 Henifin said. 鈥淲hen these folks coming up to me on the street, Black and white, that are just like 鈥榊ou鈥檙e doing a great job, don鈥檛 listen to that noise.鈥欌
One of the groups suing to get more control is the People鈥檚 Advocacy Institute. The principal officer listed on GuideStar, an information service on U.S. nonprofit organizations, is Candace Abdul-Tawwab. She is married to Tariq Abdul-Tawwab, the former Jackson Water chief experience officer Henifin fired, he said.
鈥淚t just didn鈥檛 work out. Kind of makes you wonder what the motivation is there,鈥 Henifin said.
In an email Tuesday, Candace Abdul-Tawwab said that comment from Henifin was 鈥渦nfortunate.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 an old tactic to try to single out organizations in an attempt to divide us. We won鈥檛 be divided. We remain steadfast in our efforts to ensure community voices are heard,鈥 Abdul-Tawwab said.
HIS NEXT PROITITY: SEWER STRUGGLES
Henifin's legal authority has been extended to the city鈥檚 sewer system.
The drinking water order was put in place last November under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The sewer order went into effect at the end of September under the Clean Water Act. Henifin plans to manage both in a four-year window.
鈥淭he sewer order has a four-year term, with the anticipation that at the end of the fourth year, the city will be back under a consent decree. They didn鈥檛 make any real progress under the consent decree that was put in place in 2013, so the judge has stayed those decree requirements,鈥 Henifin said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 different than the water order, which has no end date. It鈥檚 over when the judge believes that the system is stable. The water order could transition to longer-term judicial oversight, but we don鈥檛 really know what the future is.鈥
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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at .
