Water line issues leave residents confused in Starkville

Residents of the Deerfield community in Oktibbeha County are outraged over water leaks

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Residents of the Deerfield community in Oktibbeha County are outraged over water leaks and other problems impacting their neighborhood.

The City of Starkville annexed Deerfield several years ago and that has created confusion over who to call when issues occur.

The people I talked to in the Deerfield community are frustrated because of the water line issues they’ve dealt with over the years.

They feel like there’s a lack of concern from the people that handle their water.

“We don’t want a Jackson crisis, I mean we’re taking care of a lot of things in Jackson and there are issues going on here in our very backyard,” said Deerfield resident Linda Young.

That’s how some residents in the Deerfield area feel since their water stopped working Wednesday afternoon.

Water sprung a leak in this hole and filled people’s yards for nearly half a mile.

“This is not the first time we’ve had these issues with our water. Within the year, I’m going to say a total of maybe four times this year alone the water has gone off. And when it does go off, it’s slow to come on. And the problem that we’re having is we’re never getting anyone to give us prior notice that our water is going to be off. All we know is that it’s off,” said Young

“And I had to call Warrior Water four times last year just to get my lines cleared. And it’s nothing in my house, they said it’s something in these pipes down here but it still costs me 110 dollars every time Warrior Water comes out here,” said resident Samuel Paige.

Their water comes from Talking Warrior Water Association, but they are billed through Starkville Utilities.

Starkville annexed the Deerfield community more than 10 years ago; which leaves some of the residents confused about who to call for water leaks or water outages.

Talking Warrior Water association president Joe Williams said it’s on the city.

“They know that they should be contacting the city of Starkville. And of course, if there’s something that the city of Starkville can not handle, we’ll come out like we are now and accommodate, and accommodate the citizens of this area,” said Williams

“We do not have any control or the ability to control a separate water association with its own certificated area. They need to call and talk to their Talking Warrior Water Association head. And I don’t know who that contact point is, other than supervisor Joe Williams who I believe is the president of that association,” said Starkville mayor Lynn Spruill.

The mayor said the city only handles billing for the water association, not maintenance or repairs.

Williams says although the water association doesn’t have regular office hours; he knows that his crews will come out as soon as possible the help with issues for all their customers.

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