Jackson needs more community oversight and transparency as efforts to repair the city’s beleaguered water infrastructure continue, organizers with the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign and the People’s Advocacy Institute told a federal court in a Sept. 25 filing.
They argued in a Sept. 26 press release that Interim Third Party Manager Ted Henifin and the EPA have not done enough to ensure open communication with residents and community leaders about the quality of the water or long-term plans to redesign the crumbling system.
They are calling for increased information-sharing related to water quality and the management of federal funds to fix the public water system, regular updates about repair work, and public oversight of long-term contracts for completing the repairs.
“We are also requesting the EPA provide residents with water filters and water tests,” Executive Director of the People’s Advocacy Institute Rukia Lumumba said at a press conference on Sept. 27.
“Residents of the City of Jackson are tired. We cannot afford another hiccup with this water,” Danyelle Holmes of the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign said.
In June, Henefin told U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Judge Henry T. Wingate that Jackson’s water was safe to drink because “it meets the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
Jackson residents question the validity of these statements. “We have sat down with experts and we know what common sense tells us,” Holmes said.
Brooke Floyd, lead organizer for the Jackson People’s Assemblies, said she recently spoke with Jackson residents who told her they still have “brown, discolored water or unknown particles floating in the water” coming out of their taps.
Both the City of Jackson and the EPA have agreed not to oppose the organizations’ motion to intervene in the case.
“The ball is now in the judge’s court,” said Mikaila Hernández, Bertha Justice Fellow and attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Judge Wingate previously denied a July request from City of Jackson officials who asked for more transparency about Henifin’s plans for the water treatment system. Wingate pushed back on the
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