Senate Resolution 10

(As Adopted by Senate)

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND THANKING THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION EMERGENCY RESPONSE COOPERATIVE FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE DURING THE JACKSON WATER CRISIS.

WHEREAS, on Monday night, August 29, 2022, a state of emergency for the City of Jackson was declared due to the failure of its water system; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) established an Incident Command Center at the O.B. Curtiss Water Treatment Plant and a collaborative group was brought together to begin planning and executing the water restoration process. This group consisted of MEMA, Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the City of Jackson, among others. As part of the emergency response, the Incident Command Center requested the assistance of the Mississippi Rural Water Association's (MsRWA) emergency response cooperative, known as the Rural Water Emergency Assistance Cooperative (RWEAC); and

WHEREAS, on August 30, 2022, upon receiving the request, MsRWA CEO, Kirby Mayfield, immediately activated RWEAC and issued a request for assistance from water utilities throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, with Jackson being a Class "A" water plant, and Mississippi having few Class "A" systems and operators, the request also went to the neighboring states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Through the RWEAC cooperative, mutual aid is already set up with these neighboring states for emergencies; and

WHEREAS, those assisting from within Mississippi included the cities of Winona, Columbia and Meridian. Rural water associations assisting were Bear Creek Water Association, Copiah Water Association, Jackson County Utility Authority and MsRWA. Out-of-state assistance came from the Florida Rural Water Association and their member utilities, the Alabama Rural Water Association and their member utilities, and the Georgia Rural Water Association and their member utilities; and

WHEREAS, this team was quickly activated and worked in the unified command in a very short time and helped to restore service to the City of Jackson by September 5th, 2022, and by September 15th, the boil water advisory was lifted; and

WHEREAS, these extraordinary efforts by these teams are highly exemplary and to be commended:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That on behalf of the citizens of the City of Jackson and the State of Mississippi, we do hereby commend and thank the Mississippi Rural Water Association Emergency Response Cooperative for their assistance during the Jackson water crisis.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to MsRWA CEO Kirby Mayfield, forwarded to the Governor and the Mayor of the City of Jackson and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.