Transfer of Service for Punkin Water Association to Oxford on Tuesday Agenda

By Alyssa Schnugg

News editor

alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The transfer of Punkin Water Association and its dissolution is on the Oxford Board of Aldermen’s agenda for the Tuesday evening regular meeting.

Last week, PWA customers received an email that the PWA board was actively engaged with the city of Oxford to potentially transfer ownership of the association to the city of Oxford.

City officials confirmed that the city and PWA have been in recent talks in regard to the transfer of service.

The Board of Aldermen will consider two items Tuesday – an agreement for the transfer of service and dissolution of PWA and a resolution in support of local and private legislation authorizing the city of Oxford to expand its water system within a certain distance outside the corporate limits.

Residents receiving water from PWA have been issuing complaints to the PSC for several years over the quality of the water and poor management of the water association. Customers often complain about discoloration of their water and having to replace water filters almost weekly.

Oxford intends to construct a water line to tie into the PWA System for the purpose of supplying water to PWA and make the necessary changes to the PWA System to better serve the members of PWA; however, there are several steps necessary to make that happen.

If the Board of Aldermen approves the agreement, it will go before the PWA Board of Directors for its consideration. If approved, the city will then determine whether it has the ability and capacity to serve the members of PWA.

Since a portion of the area is outside of 5 miles from the Oxford city limits, local and private legislation is required that authorizes Oxford to construct, maintain and operate a water system beyond 5 miles from the Oxford city limits.

Oxford and PWA agree to cooperate regarding any necessary resolutions required to effectuate the passage of such local and private legislation.

If the local and private legislation is granted, the Mississippi Department of Health must approve the construction work and the overall extension of the Oxford water system to serve the members of PWA. Upon approval, Oxford will begin the work to enable the delivery of Oxford water to the members of PWA.

According to the agreement, it is anticipated that the construction work will be complete within six months after the approval by the state agencies.

The Oxford Board of Aldermen meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting is also live-streamed on its YouTube page.