Northsider Lester Herrington gives a comprehensive report on what caused the Jackson water crisis.
Herrington is the director of the Office of Environmental Health for the Mississippi Sate Department of Health. He was on the emergency team that got the O. B. Curtis water treatment plant back up and running.
Herrington made several basic points during his talk to the Rotary Club of North Jackson:
-- The plant was a first-of-its-kind, cutting-edge membrane plant. Unfortunately, the technology was untested and had a lot of deficiencies. Membrane plants are better suited when the incoming water is from a deep well or a more pure surface water source. Ross Barnett reservoir water was too muddy for the membrane plant to work well, requiring a high amount of maintenance.
-- The plant is basically two plants in one: the membrane plant works alongside a traditional water treatment plant. This causes double the maintenance, compounding operational issues.
-- The water crisis has historical roots, but the basic problem causing the immediate crisis was lack of qualified technicians running the plant. The actual equipment cost to get the plant up an running was not significant.
Before joining the Mississippi State Department of Health, Les Herrington served in a wide range of roles at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, with earlier experience in managing environmental health and safety operations and employee training in the private sector.
Les Herrington is registered as a Professional Engineer by the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and is board-certified as an Environmental Engineer by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. He holds a Certificate of Public Management from the Mississippi State Personnel Board. He is also an active member of the Mississippi Water Environment Association . He earned his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Mississippi State University and Master's degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Mississippi.
