Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker said Thursday, June 13, that the city is working in each ward to replace or repair water lines to clear up any brown water problems.
Barker and city officials were at Water Plant No. 1 to announce a perfect score on the Mississippi State Department of Health’s annual drinking water report. The mayor said the score showed the Water Department’s work over the past two years.
“Just more than two years ago, we gathered here at Water Pump No. 1 to report on a less than desirable score on our annual drinking water report in 2017 from the Mississippi State Department of Health,” he said. “Two years ago, we learned that we had scored a 4 out of 5 on this report.
“What we were told was that even though the water was safe to drink, the secondary levels of iron were too high. This excess of iron was mainly due to the problems with our infrastructure and our water plants.”
Last year, the city’s score was 4.7, Barker said.
“While the score was not perfect, we were cited because of the city’s lack of an updated audit.”
However, Barker praised the department for the last report.
“It’s the first perfect score we’ve seen since before 2016,” he said. “In addition to this score, the Department of Health provided guidance into maintenance going forward to help us preserve that perfect score in the upcoming years.
“We have amazing and dedicated employees who work in the water plants,” he said before introducing Water and Sewer Department Director Alan Howe.
Howe said, “A perfect score of 5 out of 5 proves that our division managers, our crew and our staff continue to raise the bar to provide safe drinking water for the City of Hattiesburg. I am so proud of them and the momentum moving forward as we become the premier city in the Gulf South.”
Barker said the improvement is enormous.
“To say where we were two years ago and where we are now is a night and day difference,” he said. “In customer service and employee growth, it’s been a real jump for us.”
Barker then tackled the brown water issue.
“Brown water has really three causes: bad, old or undersized transmission lines, dead-end lines and bad source water,” he said. “Today, I can tell you with confidence that the source water in Hattiesburg is good. We are also systematically and proactively replacing water lines in every ward going forward.”