PCS Sets Public Meeting Regarding Punkin Water Association

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley will hold a public hearing regarding Punkin Water Association later this month. 

The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, at the Lafayette County Chancery Clerk Building in Courtroom 1.

PSC Brandon Presley

Citizens with concerns or questions will be allowed to speak as public witnesses and have their comments placed on the official record of the case before the Public Service Commission.

A year ago, residents who receive water from the Punkin Water Association voiced their concerns about water quality and poor management before Presley at a public meeting.

After the meeting, Punkin Water was required to make improvements to existing wells, as well as requiring the association to be more transparent by notifying members of meetings and making bylaws and meeting minutes more accessible.

PWA posts notices of meetings, minutes, water outages and boil notices on the association’s Facebook page.

After the May meeting with the PCS, the city of Oxford later agreed to enter into an agreement with PWA via a master meter connection allowing PWA to purchase between 50,000 and 250,000 gallons of water daily.

That agreement included requiring PWA to put a water main at the University Avenue and Highway 334. Punkin was also looking at drilling a new well closer to the city, however, both options will be costly. The PSC gave PWA until May this year to decide.

A PWA customer posts photos of their water June 4 on the Concerned Citizens of Punkin Water Association Facebook page.

In July, the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors put a moratorium on the acceptance of “will serve” letters from Punkin and no new developments will be considered for preliminary plat approval until conditions improve.

While some residents told Hottytoddy.com in January that they had seen some improvements, a Facebook page for customers of PWA showed pictures of brown or cloudy water as recently as last week.