JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Officials in Mississippi’s capital say they’ve increased water shutoffs for customers delinquent on bills from roughly 30 a day to 200 a day to address years of issues affecting the aging infrastructure.
News outlets report Jackson officials announced this week that they’re ramping up the shutoffs. City Public Works Director Bob Miller says they’re for about 20,000 customers who haven’t paid or set up a payment plan.
Miller says there’s more than $52 million in uncollected revenue for active accounts, and $57.5 million for accounts that have had water turned off but remain unpaid.
Jackson has been under an Environmental Protection Agency consent decree since 2012 but its sewage overflow hasn’t slowed. Other issues include an almost 50 percent maintenance staff shortage and collection problems with the city’s billing system.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
