Lawmakers Hear Residents' Accounts of Failing Rural Water Systems; Officials Urge Oversight and Consolidation

A state legislative committee heard more than two hours of testimony on Sept. 9 about chronic failures at rural water associations across Mississippi, with residents describing sand-filled taps, repeated boil-water notices and boards that do not hold regular meetings.

The hearing opened with the chair telling lawmakers the legislature must decide how to hold failing systems accountable. Residents gave specific examples. "Business is not being handled properly for a public entity," said Susan Walker, a former McHenry Utility Association board member, who testified that meetings were not called, minutes were unavailable and that utility funds were sometimes kept at a personal residence before deposit. "No accountability of funds from our board members," she said.

Jenny "Nikki" Kennedy, who lives in Carrier, said sand and low pressure forced her household to stop drinking the tap water and buy bottled water. "I had my water tested ... they said my pH levels, my phosphate levels, and my alkalinity levels were too high and that they could cause kidney and liver damage," Kennedy said. She said the association canceled meetings, compelled in-person attendance and delayed repairs for weeks.

A member who described decades of experience with Pearl River Central Water Association said his address received about 62 boil-water notices between May 2023 and May 2025, an average of roughly 2.5 per month. "I stopped receiving boil water notices" posted on the association's website after a May 2025 break, he said, and later notifications resumed only sporadically.

Local officials and state regulators told the committee that the problems are both technical and institutional. Adrian Lumpkin, Pearl River County administrator, said counties have little direct oversight of the association boards that provide much of rural Mississippi's water service. "We don't really have any oversight or anything like that," Lumpkin said, adding that long delays for meters and unclear billing practices impose economic and public-health costs.

Anne Smith, an investigator with the Public Service Commission, told the committee the PSC does not currently have regulatory authority over many rural water associations but will try to assist customers and log complaints. She summarized a range of consumer reports, from sudden high bills to multi-day outages and failure to notify customers of boil-water alerts.

Karen Strickland, another PSC investigator, catalogued recurring issues: private board meetings, missing or inconsistent notices, disconnected phone numbers and no transparent contact for members. "Board meetings held in private excluding public input," she said, listing governance and communication as the leading problems.

PSC commissioners who testified urged a combination of tools. Commissioner Stamps said some associations need to merge to achieve economies of scale and to hire competent operators. Commissioner Brown summarized existing statutory avenues, citing code sections the PSC can use to hold hearings, levy fines or treat some failing private systems as utilities under 77-3-22 and related statutes, though he said statutory limits restrict the PSC's ability to require funded fixes.

Representatives of state agencies and technical partners offered remedies and data. Bill Moody, director of the Bureau of Public Water Supply at the Mississippi State Department of Health, said the state has about 1,185 public water systems and roughly 600 rural water associations; the department conducts capacity assessments, enforces Safe Drinking Water Act rules and manages State Revolving Fund support for consolidation and technical assistance. Jason Barrett of Mississippi State University urged asset-management plans, routine rate studies and board training to ensure financial sustainability and compliance.

Lawyers and engineers described conflicts where rural associations have provided service outside certificated areas, creating disputes with utility authorities and complicating sewer-only operations. Will Sims, attorney for the Stone County Utility Authority, called for statutory fixes to make cooperation and consolidation less litigious. John Prickett, an engineer, said some customer connections predated utility authorities and that legal housekeeping is needed to regularize certificated areas without cutting off longstanding customers.

Voices from the sector urged a mix of enforcement and help. The CEO of Mississippi Rural Water suggested strengthening implementation of existing laws and adding targeted requirements, like five-year rate studies and mandatory asset-management plans, rather than creating large new regulatory layers.

The committee asked PSC staff for a list of repeat offenders and told counsel to examine code sections identified during testimony for possible strengthening. The hearing concluded with the chair saying the committee would review the records and next steps.

Why it matters: The testimony combined public-health concerns (boil-water notices and water quality), long-term infrastructure and governance failures, and the practical limits of small, member-run systems to fund big repairs. Lawmakers face choices including targeted enforcement, funding for consolidation, or statutory changes to give state agencies clearer remedies. "If we don't have water, we're in trouble," Pearl River County administrator Adrian Lumpkin said.

The committee did not vote on legislation at the hearing. Members asked staff for complaint lists and legal analysis to inform possible bills or hearings in the coming session.