A bill presently working its way through the Mississippi Legislature would authorize the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors to lease a county water well and elevated water tower to the city of Charleston.
House Bill 1495, introduced March 5 by state Rep. Tommy Reynolds, would permit the lease for a term of up to 25 years.
On March 11, the measure passed the House 117-1 and was transmitted to the Senate the next day. On March 18, it was passed without any changes by the Senate Local and Private Committee. It now awaits a vote by the full Senate.
If the bill passes and is signed by the governor, city and county officials would have to work out the details of any lease agreement
The well in question is located in the Tallahatchie County Industrial Park east of Charleston. It supplies water for fire protection and for use by several industries and a county fire training center there.
Reynolds, who serves as board attorney for both the city and county, recommended what he considers to be a mutually beneficial proposition for both Tallahatchie County and the city of Charleston, and both boards have voiced tentative support.
State Rep. Tommy Reynolds, left, and Charleston Mayor Sedrick Smith are proponents of a plan that would enable the city to lease a water well and elevated water tank at the Tallahatchie County Industrial Park.
In the wake of February winter weather that knocked out water service in Charleston for days and created a boil-water scenario for two-and-a-half weeks, Reynolds said allowing the city to utilize the industrial park well “could help ... a great deal, and it would be very uncostly for the city to utilize.”
Reynolds said the lease would be at a negotiated price and include just a few stipulations.
“I think the county would require the city to paint the water tank, maintain it — keep it up, basically,” he noted. The city also would need to provide a higher level of chlorination for the well water at the industrial park, but Reynolds said Charleston officials could apply for grant monies to assist with that and other expenses.
Charleston Mayor Sedrick Smith said he likes the lease proposal, especially with the city water crisis fresh on his mind.
“If anything of that nature ever occurs again, at least we would have a secondary source of water and a backup plan,” Smith said, noting that engineers and rural water specialists would be tasked with working out the technical details to link the city’s water system to the county well.
