Muddy Water
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Greenville has a plan to clear up its brown drinking water. But is the price too much to swallow?
o most folks in Greenville, brown water is old news, certainly nothing to fuss over. After all, they have been born and raised, bathed and baptized in what could be mistaken for sweet tea. They wash dishes in it, soak linens in it and fill ice trays with it. After a while, many say they don’t even notice the color. They gulp it down without a thought.
B Y M A G G I E D AY
In fact, many say they prefer Greenville water, which tastes just a little different from your average glass of tap water. When Barack Obama visited the town in 2008 as a presidential candidate, he felt quite differently after seeing a murky stream come out of his morning shower at the Holiday Inn Express. Mayor Heather McTeer had been pushing for federal help to remove the brown tint from the water, and Obama was quick to pledge his support. He made a campaign promise that he would be back, and that he certainly wouldn’t forget the Delta. It took time, but with some help from U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., the mayor’s lobbying finally paid off. Now, Greenville waits to act on a grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that adds up to $18.5 million to clear up the water.
But the money comes with strings. The city is required to match 25 percent, or more than $4.5 million, no small sum in a place with a rapidly deteriorating tax base. The total amount — $23 million — would allow the city to treat six of eight wells within the city limits. It is testing the system now. For decades, these wells have pumped out brown water. But it has nothing to do with the muddy Mississippi River that flows by the town. The cause rests deep underground, where centuries-old cypress roots thrive in the aquifer from which the wells draw. The roots’ tint seeps into the water, giving it a nearly tobacco-colored hue. That’s what residents see when they turn on the water to brush their teeth. City officials insist that the water is completely harmless. It is treated
4 0 • W H AT E V ER H A P PE N ED TO M A I N ST R EE T ?
regularly for bacteria and any excessive minerals. According to then-Public Works Director Brad Jones, all chemicals in the water are within EPA standards, and no one has to worry when drinking or bathing in it. “We put a little fluoride in the water, and some chlorine is in there as well,” Jones said. “I like the water in our city; it’s soft. If you go elsewhere, you get hard water. I like to shampoo my hair here; it makes it feel soft,” he said with a chuckle, as he rubbed his balding scalp. Three companies have approached the city with different methods to clear the water, the most prominent being an ion-exchange system in the wells, where charged ionic chemicals attract the tint and grab it right out of the water. Other options include reverse osmosis and nano-filtration, both of which use semi-
