Jackson residents grow frustrated with city’s lack of response to water leaks

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Residents across the capital city say when they call 3-1-1 for help regarding a water or sewage leak, they are sent straight to voice mail. and they are growing tired of the lack of response.

“If things aren’t addressed, there’s nothing good that can happen,” Northeast Jackson resident Gretchen Gulmon said.

Gretchen Gulmon is one of many residents living in Jackson that say calling 3-1-1 seems useless.

“I have not been successful at getting anybody from the city to come to look at it. I have called I have emailed the website for the city water. I’ve had no follow-up,” Gulmon said.

For the past year, Culmon said she’s had a leak in her yard coming from a city pipe, and each day, it’s run through her yard and into her neighbors.

“It makes you feel very bad because of our weather, our water situation, and the fact that it’s just streaming down the street all the time,” Gulmon said.

Ted Henifin, the Third-Party Manager over Jackson’s Water System, told 3 on your side in December that Microsoft had offered to build an interface where customers could call or go online to pay bills, report issues, and more -- so city workers could have a paper trail to address issues more efficiently.

And while residents say they’re trying to be patient, they are growing weary from the wait.

“In all my years of living in Jackson, I have never ever seen the response time for the water issues, we also have terrible potholes. So I’ve never seen it dragged out not only an actual callback, but an actual fix,” Gulmon explained.

Gulmon said while she knows her leak may seem minor now, if not addressed, she doesn’t know what the leak could impact in the long term.

“We need somebody to take charge and to make our citizens feel like we’re being heard. It would make me feel a little better, if like there was someone in control. If I got a phone call, and more especially a follow-up visit out to where this leak is,” Gulmon said.

Gulmon added that several of her neighbors in Northeast Jackson have also called for issues regarding water leaks, their bills, and even potholes. However, none have been addressed.

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