Residents of a Leflore County subdivision voiced concerns about the safety of their water to the Board of Supervisors on Monday, and the officials said they would work toward a solution.
District 4 Supervisor Wayne Self said Longacre residents have been complaining for years about contamination in their water. The supervisors also have recently discussed the possibility of installing a water line to improve fire protection in the subdivision located south of Greenwood.
Self mentioned one citizen who had found sand in his bathtub from the piped water.
On hand at Monday's meeting were Benton White, who handles consumer complaints for the Public Service Commission, and Edward Course, a Longacre resident and an environmental officer for the state Department of Health.
Supervisor Jimmie Barnes said that although the supervisors can help get the word out, the PSC is the agency that can fix these problems. He said too many people want to be "nice" about a situation that he wouldn't tolerate.
"The PSC could do something if you raise enough hell and write enough letters," Barnes said.
Board attorney Willie J. Perkins Sr. added that the PSC, not the county board, has jurisdiction in this area. The PSC has received no complaints about this situation from anyone at Longacre in recent months, he said.
Also, Perkins said, the water lines are owned by a private company, Delta Drilling. The question is whether the PSC can require Delta Drilling to take more steps to improve its drinking water, the attorney said.
Resident Robert Coleman said citizens filed a complaint four or five years ago but saw no results.
He said Delta Drilling should be required to make its water safer, since the subdivision's residents already are required by health regulations to use city sewage service.
Course said there were discrepancies among the samples of water collected and sent to the Department of Health. Contamination was found in some samples that he submitted, but samples offered by Delta Drilling were found to be clean, he said.
The Health Department doesn't have the resources to fix such a problem even if it can identify it, he said.
"We don't drill wells," he said. "We only approve wells."
Board President Robert Moore said he wanted to resolve this issue, adding that people who own property shouldn't have to buy clean drinking water.
White said a complaint could be filed with a request from the Public Service Commission to conduct a hearing. He said he would send the board a form that could help push the process forward.
Course said he could provide relevant water samples from the last 10 years if needed.
Also Monday, the board:
- Selected the Jackson architectural firm of Dale and Associates to design a proposed new county jail. Dale and Associates was one of three firms to make presentations April 30 at a special meeting of the supervisors. On Monday, Supervisor Arvel Burden said he would rather delay a vote because Phil Wolfe was absent. Moore said Sheriff Ricky Banks, who also was not present Monday, had indicated no preference among the three candidates and just wanted to move the project ahead. After Jimmie Barnes proposed that they select Dale, the choice was approved unanimously. Moore said Wolfe will have a chance to comment on the choice for the record if he likes.
- Voted to reappoint Larresia Hunt as acting justice court clerk for six months. Her predecessor, Alberta Baker, resigned last October. The state Department of Audit has been investigating irregularities in the office's finances. Chancery Clerk Sam Abraham said Monday that Hunt was appointed to the post temporarily with the expectation that the investigation would be complete. However, it is still continuing, he said.
- Approved a resolution to publish a statement of the county's intention to issue bonds of up to $2.8 million for bridge and road repair. Citizens have until 4 p.m. June 11 to voice any objections.
