Halted Water-Meter Project Tests Public Patience

A $65M water-meter project in Jackson, MS, has hit some snags. Over the winter, officials halted the project as a result of quality-control questions.

"Since that time, no more meters have been installed, the water department's software upgrades haven't happened, subcontractors are getting anxious, the Jackson City Council wants answers, and the public is growing impatient," the Jackson Free Press reported.

The contract amounts to $91 million in total. "It calls for replacing 64,998 water meters with new, ostensibly more high-tech accurate meters that require less hands-on maintenance. All together, the water meters and software overhaul cost taxpayers $65 million—approximately $1,000 for every meter—while the rest, $26 million, is earmarked for updating water and sewer treatment facilities and sewer lines," the report said.

During the course of the project, several voices weighed in with criticism of the contract.

"Outside consultants delivered a bleak report on the Siemens contract and the City's water and sewer operations, and the city council launched an investigation into the water-sewer department and asked for a full review of the Siemens contract," the report said. In March, Mayor Tony Yarber declared a state of emergency for the city's infrastructure.

The mayor said he regrets his decision to vote in favor of the contract when he served on city council, according to a separate Free Press report.

The future of the water-meter project has become uncertain.

"Yarber has made no public announcements about his next move on the Siemens project, which the company pitched to the city as an easy way to raise cash that it could reinvest back in water and sewer infrastructure," the report said.

The effort ran into difficulties from the start.

"Water customers complain of receiving unusually large water bills after getting new meters and bad customer service from the city water department when they call about it.

Others point to the flimsy, plastic lid covers as symbolic of the dubiousness of the whole deal, which, city budget writers say, will affect just about every other part of the City's budget for the foreseeable future," the report said.

Among others, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes slammed the contract.

"The Siemens contract seems to be a never-ending nightmare. The citizens are asking for help," Stokes told WLBT, per a previous Jackson Free Press article.