Officials: People are the problem, but more infrastructure could help.
As West Jackson became more and more developed, the town of Jackson’s water utility manager, John Ryan, knew it was only a matter of time before water became an issue. The town typically goes from pumping 2 million daily gallons of drinking water in slow seasons to 7 million gallons in the summer. The town’s water system could pump anywhere from 9 to 10 million gallons a day if it “had to.”
But in July, the town was pumping a little over 7 million gallons a day, Ryan said. That’s the most he had ever seen. “We’re not in dire straits,” Ryan said. “But we have the possibility of being that way.”