FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2011
CONTACT: Robbie Wilbur
601/961-5277
MDEQ ISSUES TEMPORARY ADVISORY FOR PURPLE CREEK IN JACKSON
(JACKSON, Miss.) –The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) issued a temporary water contact advisory Thursday for Purple Creek in northeast Jackson. This advisory applies to Purple Creek at Sedgewick Drive downstream to the confluence with the Pearl River.
MDEQ recommends that people avoid water contact recreation such as swimming or wading in these waters. In addition, people should avoid eating fish from these waters until further notice.
This advisory is being issued due to a collapsed sewer line resulting in the discharge of untreated wastewater into the creek. The discharge is located near the northeast corner of the soccer fields at the end of Westbrook Road, approximately 60 yards to the east of the soccer fields and 500 yards north of Westbrook Road.
The City of Jackson has repair crews on the scene and expects to stop the flow soon. MDEQ is working with city officials to ensure that the problems are corrected as soon as possible. MDEQ staff have begun monitoring bacteria levels and water quality in Purple Creek and will revise the advisory as needed.
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