Federal Officials Intervene in Jackson, Mississippi, Water Crisis

Deanne Criswell (C), administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) confer with Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba following a tour the City of Jackson's O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Facility in Ridgeland, Miss., on Sept. 2, 2022. Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo

Federal officials have intervened in the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis to facilitate an agreement for an interim water manager to fix the broken system.

According to Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba on Nov. 30, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate signed an Interim Stipulated Order—an agreement between the city, the Mississippi State Department of Health, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—to allow for federal oversight of water management and seat a third-party administrator.

The total budget for professional services under the order is $2,976,500.

Ted Henifin, an award-winning civil engineer with a resume of public works leadership positions in Virginia, has been appointed as the third-party administrator, as confirmed by Lumumba. In the water utility industry, Henifin has been compared to Elon Musk for his innovation in the field.

Lumumba welcomed the decision, adding that Henifin has already been instrumental in efforts to get the system back online

“This agreement allows us to work collaboratively with someone we trust to make smart choices for the city’s drinking water system and ensure that we can provide safe, clean and sustainable drinking water for all,” Lumumba said in a press release.

Lumumba, a Democrat, and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) have blamed racism, climate change, and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for the water crisis.

Reeves has denied the allegation that his administration withheld funds and pointed to city mismanagement as the cause of the crisis.

Governor Praises ‘Excellent News’

In a Nov. 29 press release, Reeves celebrated the DOJ’s decision.

“It is excellent news for anyone who cares about the people of Jackson that the Mayor will no longer be overseeing the city’s water system,” Reeves said. “It is now out of the city’s control and will be overseen by a federal court.”

Reeves said it’s been “a chaotic series of months,” during which the state assumed responsibility for the system.

“The people on the ground who rushed to help were floored by the negligence,” Reeves said. “They did heroic work to fix so many broken things and support the frontline city workers who had been abandoned. We committed millions of dollars from taxpayers across Mississippi to solve this crisis of incompetence.”

On Nov. 22, Reeves ended the state of emergency he issued in August after a “nearly month-long boil water alert in place.”

On Nov. 29, the DOJ announced it had filed a complaint on behalf of the EPA against the city of Jackson alleging that the city failed to provide drinking water to residents in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

“It is vital that providers of drinking water comply with federal and state laws designed to ensure the safety of the water,” said U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi. “Through this litigation, we will act to ensure that the city of Jackson’s water system will be compliant with the Safe Drinking Water Act and other state and local regulations so that those serviced by the system can have confidence that the water they are consuming is safe. The proposed agreed interim order is a critical first step.”