JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – In four months, nearly 45 million gallons untreated wastewater were released into the environment by Jacksons sewer failures. This is according to the most recent quarterly report that Jackson submitted to the EPA.
The report covers the period December 1 through March 21. Jackson must submit regular reports as part of its sewer consent decree to the federal regulatory agency.
The most recent quarterly report was submitted April 30th and covered sanitary sewer overflows (or SSOs) that occurred in the late winter 2021 or early spring 2022.
259 sewer overflows occurred in the capital, releasing more than 44.7 Million gallons into the environment.
Waters classified as Waters of the U.S. accounted for 33.9 million gallons. The city is subject to a sewer decree that penalizes it for each SSO that reaches any of these waters.
Jackson entered into the 2012 decree with the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Justice in order to bring the sewer into compliance with federal water-quality laws.
According to Jackson’s annual report, submitted on April 30th, Jackson does not have the funds or manpower to address SSOs and other decree mandates.
Abby Braman, with Pearl Riverkeeper, a local environmental watchdog group, estimated more than 52 million gallons of sewage entered the environment during the first quarter of 2022.
She stated that it was enough to fill 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools with raw sewerage, during Tuesday’s public comment period. This is more sewage than was released in 2018 or 2019.
Jackson was asked by her to prioritize funding for water and sewer to address these concerns.
Braman also called out the city for not informing the public of major spillages.
The city’s Sewer Overflow Response Plan, also handed down with its Decree, requires that it issue a press release and place temporary signs in areas where overflows pose a health hazard.
Since then, only one sewer-related notice has been issued by the city’s news archive. It was dated March 11, asking residents to not flush disposable wipes down the toilet.
Bramans counts suggest that more than a dozen additional public notices should be issued.
14 I think were more than 1 million gallons. I don’t know what volume they consider significant. I went to the EPA/MDEQ to amend the wording. They asked me to designate a volume for notification.
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is its name. It also monitors compliance of the city with its consent decree.
Officials with the agency could not be reached immediately for comment.
Jackson is unable to fulfill decree requirements, according to its annual reports. This is due to a lack in funding and staffing.
The city informed EPA that it had 16 sewer maintenance workers available to address SSOs in Jackson as of April 30, while 31 remaining sewer maintenance positions are unfilled.
Equipment problems are also a problem in Jackson. According to the annual reports, only two of four city Jet Vactor trucks (trucks that clean grease and solids from clogged lines) were down for repairs.
The April report included 259 SSOs. 182 of these were due to grease and solids clogging the lines.
According to a March 11 news release, many of these clogs are due to the use of flushable wipes.
According to the release, disposable wipes can cause backups in your system and lead to foreign material buildup. They can sometimes attach to grease buildups in the system, creating large blockages known as fatbergs.
Another 60 SSOs were due to collapsed lines. Three were caused sewer pump failures. Ten were due excessive flow.
142 of the overflows were not resolved when the report was submitted. Some of these have released millions of gallons into the environment, including more that 8.8 million into Hanging Moss Creek as a result of a collapsed line at 5346 Jamaica Dr.
Ward 1 Councilman Ashbyfoote said that SSOs are the most serious threat to our quality of living. We must do all that we can to fix these things.
Jackson is currently negotiating terms of its consent decree and the federal government.
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