After years of struggling with home wells running dry, Amanda Barkley and her neighbors near the Falkner community on the Benton-Tippah county line hope soon to have ample, clean water as Mississippi prepares to spend over $1 billion in federal money on water and sewerage statewide.

“We got a letter from (Public Service Commissioner) Brandon Presley,” Barkley said. “Three Forks Water Association is applying for the grant to hook us up … It sounds like the money is there, the water association is going to do it. We’re just very hopeful.”

The Mississippi Legislature earlier this year decided to spend up to $750 million of the $1.8 billion it received in American Rescue Plan Act federal pandemic relief money on two of the state’s major problems: In many urban areas, most notably Jackson, antiquated water and sewerage systems are collapsing. In rural areas, such as where Barkley lives, 13% of the state’s population does not have public water service.

The issue is a hindrance to the state’s growth and economic development, and it’s a major health concern. Drinking water contamination in rural wells and from crumbling urban systems is widespread, as is pollution from leaking sewer mains and rural septic tanks.

The Legislature earmarked $450 million to provide matching grants to cities and counties for water, sewerage and stormwater drainage projects. Cities and counties received about $900 million directly from ARPA that they can use for the matching grant program. For approved projects, the state will match counties’ and most cities’ ARPA money 1-to-1, but will provide a 2-to-1 match on projects for towns that received less than $1 million from ARPA.

The Legislature also set aside $300 million for grants of up to $2.5 million each for rural water associations, from which most Mississippians receive their water. This is for projects such as the one Barkley and her neighbors hope will provide them water.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and Mississippi Department of Health are running the city/county and rural water grant programs, respectively. They have in recent weeks promulgated rules and scoring and are taking applications, and plan to start awarding grants by the fall.

‘We invented the wheel on this’

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann led the push in the Legislature and lobbied local governments to focus ARPA spending on infrastructure projects that would be “transformational and generational.” Last year, he traveled the state urging local governments to hold onto the ARPA funds they had already received until the Legislature could work out a plan to match their money.

“I’ve been very pleased with the cities that have held their money for the matching grants,” Hosemann said. “… It appears most of them did, and I’m hopeful they saved at least between $300 million and $400 million that can be fully matched to give us a big infusion on water and sewer statewide.”

The money won’t be a cure-all for Mississippi’s water and sewer infrastructure. Needs in many areas, such as Jackson, are far beyond the money available. But it’s well beyond what Mississippi’s cities, counties and hamlets could do on their own, and is being called a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by many leaders.

“We just appreciate this lift, this push,” said Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons, who said his city hopes to have the state program match his city’s $6.2 million in direct ARPA funds to cover $12.4 million in water and wastewater system improvements. “… Our children and their children will see the positive benefits of infrastructure work.”

Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams, president of the Mississippi Municipal League, said cities are reading the new regulations and signing up for webinars with MDEQ and that MML and the secretary of state’s office are helping cities navigate the grant programs. She said Greenwood has $3.2 million it hopes to get matched to “re-line a lot of sewer pipes that are 70 to 75 years old,” and other work.

“We’re sitting on go — or at least on one or two of ‘one-two-three, ready go,’” McAdams said. “… We’re really appreciative of the additional funding from the state level. I really totally agreed with Lt. Gov. Hosemann. A lot of people could have taken that money and done other things that, while needed, might not be the best decision. When you narrow it down to water and wastewater, you’re doing things that are going to last many years.”

Robert Lee, interim city engineer for Jackson, said the city is finalizing plans for projects. The city plans to use $25 million of the $42 million it received from ARPA for the state water and sewer match program — the largest amount of any city in the state.

Lee said the city plans to focus these projects on sewerage, not because the city doesn’t have plenty of drinking water system needs, but because many of the water projects have much larger price tags and will have to be staged over years.

“On the sewer side, we have a (court) consent decree (to fix problems),” Lee said. “Right now, I’m looking at sewer overflowing and spilling as we talk.”

Derrick Surrette, director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, said most counties in Mississippi do not have water or sewerage operations, but some plan to apply for matching grants from the state for stormwater projects. He said these are mostly larger, more developed counties with major drainage issues. He said many other counties will be using their ARPA funds on road and bridge work and other issues, without getting a match from the state.

Surrette said some counties are looking to partner with rural water associations, and use county ARPA funds to help them leverage a state match and upgrade water systems and service. But he said there is still some confusion and concern about counties giving money to non-county entities.

“The rural water issue gets more complicated,” Surrette said. “Once the money goes off the county books to a private association, that’s where all sorts of red flags go up for counties. It’s not that we don’t want to do it, it’s just being very cautious. You can’t just give that money to a rural water association and hope they get it done.