The city of Jackson plans to apply for a loan that would jumpstart the replacement of water service lines containing lead.
The Jackson city council recently passed a 12-percent water rate increase. It will help pay for the replacement of more than 11,000 lead service lines.
Public Information Officer Aaron Dimick says the revenue from that rate increase won’t begin to appear until 2023. “If we wind up getting this $3-million from the state," Dimick says, "that means that we can start work next year, and really ramp up the efforts.”
If approved, Dimick says the loan would help Jackson install 1,800 new lines next year. “We’re projecting it’s going to cost $120-million to pay for the total replacement of 11,300 service lines, so $3-million might not seem like a lot, but any little bit helps, and it’ll definitely get us going sooner.”
Over the past two years, the city has only installed new lines to about 100 homes.
Jackson officials hope for a response from the state on the loan application by this fall.