Major projects in the works for JXN Water this year. See the latest quarterly report
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The new year promises to be a busy one for JXN Water, with major projects expected to take place to replace small-diameter water lines, and to improve the city’s two treatment plants.
JXN Water recently released its latest quarterly report, which outlines continued progress made to restore the city’s water system since it was taken over by the federal government in late 2022.
Henifin said he’s pleased with what JXN Water has done and told WLBT that the utility is working to settle into a “maintenance mode” and take on some major needed projects.
“The small-diameter pipe project will be advertised in the next month or so. It’s a $5 million to $7 million project to go into the neighborhoods and replace the… pipes that are a plague to the whole system… At the plant, the entire chemical feed system is being renovated,” he said.
Henifin was referring to the chemical feed system at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Facility. Curtis was the epicenter of the 2022 water crisis after the facility shut down in the wake of flooding from the Pearl River.
He said one of the biggest signs of progress is the fact that JXN Water can begin major renovations at the Curtis plant, which require portions of the facility to be temporarily taken out of operation.
“We’re also adding some structures to the sedimentation basins to make them more efficient and cleaning out the building up of sediment in the clear wells that need to be cleaned out,” he said. “We’ve come a long way to even think about things like that.”
Henifin was appointed manager of Jackson’s water system and water billing systems in November 2022. As part of the order, Henifin was required to bring the system into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, including fulfilling a list of 13 priority projects.
To date, five of those projects have been completed, and some $343 million has been spent, including a little more than $69 million that has gone to Jacobs Solutions to manage the city’s Curtis and J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plants.
The lion’s share of that funding came through a 2022 Congressional allocation. That year, Congress appropriated some $800 million to the city to address its water and sewer needs.
The amount included $150 million in Safe Drinking Water Act funds to cover immediate needs and an additional $450 million in Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) funds to cover larger infrastructure projects.
“It came in two pieces: the $150 million, which allowed us to do things quickly, and the $450 million to SRF, which has to be used on infrastructure projects, and has a more drawn-out process to get going,” he said.
The $150 million has gone to JXN Water’s “Find and Fix” program to repair water main leaks across the city ($72 million). The funds also have gone toward water valve and hydrant assessments ($5.6 million), small pipe replacement ($5.6 million), and operations and maintenance ($57 million).

As of December 31, JXN Water had approximately $15 million of those funds remaining. They are expected to carry the agency through March.
Henifin said the SDWA dollars would have run out soon, but credited State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney, who worked with the Environmental Protection Agency to reimburse JXN Water for $28 million in SRF-eligible projects it paid for with SDWA funds.
“The reimbursement to JXN Water provided needed capital to pay outstanding invoices, fully fund 2024 debt obligations, and establish an operations and maintenance reserve fund,” the quarterly report states.
The third-party manager says the real solution to JXN Water’s cash-flow problem will be addressed as collections improve.
Through December 2024, JXN Water had averaged $6.2 million a month in collections from customers, about $3 million less than what it needs to operate.
To help bring in additional funds, JXN Water began shutoffs for nonpayment last year. The utility also publicized a list of the largest customers who were not paying.
Meanwhile, the quarterly report states that officials have identified more than “14,000 accounts that are receiving services, have new meters, get regular bills based on metered consumption, yet do not pay their bills.”
“These accounts will be the focus of increased collection efforts in 2025,” the report states. “Cash-flow challenges will continue until all water users are paying their bills on time each month.”
See the full report below.
JXN Water Quarterly Report by aswarren77 on Scribd
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