Jackson Free Press

For the past year and a half, residents on Edmar Place in east Fondren have heard the continuous rumblings from a generator as it pumps sewage out of the ground and sends it to the city's sewage treatment facility.

In January 2010, the city's sewage line that runs through the neighborhood collapsed. The city is replacing 3,400 feet of sewer lines.

The generator is blocked off by numerous orange cones and attached to temporary lines that run through homeowners' yards. Residents, however, will soon have relief. On Tuesday, Jackson City Council members approved construction of a new sewage line at a cost of $269,359.

Construction should be complete within 60 days.

Dan Gaillet, City Public Works director, could not say how much it cost the city per day to run and maintain the generator.

"It's a 24-7 operation so folks are constantly going out there and making sure it is running and has fuel. If it doesn't pump, the manhole fills up and we will have sewage all over the ground," he said.

Gaillet, who started his position in May 2010, said finding the funds to repair the lines was only one part of the equation. He said acquiring the right of way from landowners held up the process. The city needed to acquire the rights to new property to reroute the line.

"It took us much longer than anticipated," Gaillet said.

Troy Pearson resides at 3516 Edmar Place and said the noise and smell have been a constant disruption to the neighborhood.

"The noise is terrible," he said. "The sewer line the pipes run into is by my bedroom window, and I constantly hear it running. The smell is very bad. I don't see how people have been able to stand it."

The city had asked property owners, including Pearson, to donate land for the new sewer line. Pearson bought an empty adjoining lot when he purchased his home two years ago and had hoped to either expand his yard or sell the lot in the future. The city will run a segment of the new sewer lines under Pearson's property.

"I hoped one day to try to sell it," Pearson said. "But now you can't build on top of a sewer line."

Pearson said the city paid him a minimal amount for the right of way, but he applauded the city for working with him.

Gaillet said another sewage line collapsed this week downtown on Lamar Street. The city is declaring that line as an emergency to replace a section quickly.

"We've got to get that line and fix it now so it doesn't cause any future damage," he said.

During Tuesday's meeting, the city council also approved an order to pay $22,500 in fines to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and begin repairs on the Presidential Hills treatment plant.

The order addresses bio-solids collecting in the city's sewage lagoons in south Jackson. The lagoons serve as a repository for sludge as bacteria process it for re-entry into the Pearl River. However, the lagoons appear to be taking on more waste than they were designed to handle, and the city must finance its removal.

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said the city had considered closing the lagoons but came to the conclusion that it was not financially feasible to do so.

"We can undertake some methods to correct the violations without closing them," Johnson said. "If you close them you have to develop a pump station to pump the waste water into our main system. By the time you do all that, it would be cheaper to keep it open."

The city is also in the process of its annual budget hearings. This week, the city council heard reports from department heads about achievements in the past year and needs for the next year. At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, council members will attend a re-cap meeting to determine if they want to offer any proposed amendments to the budget.

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba said that he would like to see the city's public works department receiving more funds. He said that with more funding, the city could make more repairs earlier and consistently to avoid major interruptions.

"Intervention can be had if we had more human power and resources in the public works department," Lumumba said.

Johnson said that in addition to public works, the city's parks and recreation department can keep streets and neighborhoods clean and assist with infrastructure needs.

"The priorities are there. As we go through this budget process, you will see that there is a very strong effort to make sure our neighborhoods are protected," Johnson said.