Purcell water system is officially privately owned

FILE – A trickle of water comes out of the faucet of Mary Gaines a resident of the Golden Keys Senior Living apartments in her kitchen in Jackson, Miss., Sept. 1, 2022. The NAACP said Tuesday, Sept. 27, that Mississippi is discriminating against Jackson’s majority-Black population by diverting badly needed federal funds for drinking water infrastructure to white communities that needed it less. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

by: Gretchen Bolander

Posted: Nov 4, 2022 / 04:47 PM CDT

Updated: Nov 4, 2022 / 05:50 PM CDT

JOPLIN, Mo. —The Purcell water system is now officially under the operations of Missouri American Water. The transition to private ownership started more than a year ago. That’s when the company stepped in to help the city with a growing list of compliance issues.

Purcell voters approved the sale of the system last year — which covers both water and wastewater operations.

“Reliability and compliance and you know, Purcell’s not unique in that there are so many small communities throughout the state, especially on the wastewater side, facing regulatory compliance issues. And they’re understanding and seeing that the amount of investment needed is so much that, it’s a difficult thing for these small municipalities to take on,” said Christie Barnhart, Missouri American Water Company.

The company plans to invest nearly $2.5 million to upgrade the Purcell system in the next five years.