Jackson’s water system is under renewed scrutiny after documents emerge showing that the Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order against the city of Jackson over a year ago listing serious violations of the city’s water system. The city should have faced a heavy fine from the EPA for failing to correct the violations found in the city’s water treatment facilities. The EPA threatened to punish Jackson with fines of $ 24,000 per day for serious violations of federal inspectors of the Safe Drinking Water Act at the city’s water treatment plants. The results are revealed in a letter written by EPA Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba after the EPA inspected OB Curtis and FH Fewell facilities in February 2020 due to water for ingestion of E. coli, human or animal waste and other bacteria of concerns about disinfecting the water before it was distributed to customers across the city. According to the inspectors, both water treatment plants did not follow proper disinfection procedures to prevent bacterial contamination. In the JH Fewell facility was a UV disinfection device that detects pathogens in the water, for three months offline inspectors say that these devices should work continuously. The EPA told the City of Jackson that it would have to come up with a comprehensive plan that the agency would approve to determine how the city would correct violations at its water treatment plants. The mayor’s office said the concerns set out in the EPA regulation were largely due to loopholes in administrative processes. The Public Works Department has worked hard to address the items within the original order and is currently working with the EPA to address the items within a comprehensive equipment repair plan.
JACKSON, miss. –
Jackson’s water system is under renewed scrutiny after documents emerge showing that the Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order against the city of Jackson over a year ago listing serious violations of the city’s water system.
The city could have faced a hefty fine from the EPA for not correcting the inspectors’ violations found at the city’s water treatment plants.
The EPA threatened to fines Jackson $ 24,000 per day if the city failed to correct serious violations of federal inspectors of the Safe Drinking Water Act identified in the city’s water treatment plants.
The results are revealed in a letter EPA Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba wrote after the EPA inspected OB Curtis and FH Fewell facilities in February 2020.
The EPA issued an Emergency Administrative Order stating that the drinking water may contain E. coli, human or animal waste, and other bacteria due to concerns about disinfecting the water before it is distributed to customers across the city.
According to the inspectors, both water treatment plants did not follow proper disinfection procedures to prevent bacterial contamination.
In the JH Fewell facility, a UV disinfection device that detects pathogens in the water was offline for three months.
Inspectors say these devices should work continuously.
The EPA told the City of Jackson that it would have to come up with a comprehensive plan that the agency would approve to determine how the city would correct violations at its water treatment plants.
The mayor’s office said the concerns set out in the EPA regulation were largely due to loopholes in administrative processes. The Public Works Department has worked hard to address the items within the original order and is currently working with the EPA to address the items within a comprehensive equipment repair plan.
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