Mayor updates board on multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar sewer project and state/federal outreach

Mayor Ford briefed the Board of Aldermen on efforts to secure funding and political support for the city’s transition away from Memphis sewage treatment to regional treatment at facilities in DeSoto County.

Ford said the issue stems from a federal court decision that requires disconnection from Memphis and establishing treatment at DeSoto County facilities; the mayor described the program as a roughly $300 million solution and said the court gave local governments an eight‑year timeline two years ago, putting the city in its sixth year of the schedule. Ford said the city is pursuing federal, state and local funding to meet the obligation.

At the Mississippi Municipal League conference in Jackson, Ford said city representatives met with the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house, both chairs of finance or ways-and-means committees, and the director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Ford reported those officials were receptive and indicated willingness to help seek funding. He also said Senator Roger Wicker had been briefed during congressional hearings and pledged support after his staff raised the issue with the EPA nominee’s hearing.

Ford said the Horn Lake Creek Interceptor sewer district — which he noted is used by Horn Lake and Southaven among others — is central to the work, and that securing a mix of federal, state and local funds is being pursued. The mayor described the issue as a major city challenge and said progress was made during recent meetings, but that the project is large and complex.