(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) today updated a water contact advisory that was issued in 2019, and updated in 2020, for a section of the Mississippi River near Greenville. The advisory includes the section of the river beginning near coordinates N33.354134 W91.129622 and ending at the Mississippi/Arkansas state line (see attached map). The advisory was initially issued due to operational issues at the City of Greenville’s wastewater treatment plant that resulted in the discharge of minimally treated wastewater into the river. The city began repair work for its wastewater treatment system in December 2020 and continued into 2021 with work now scheduled to be completed at the end of March. This work results in a planned discharge of minimally treated wastewater into the river.
MDEQ recommends that people avoid water contact recreational activities such as swimming, wading, and fishing in this segment of the river.
MDEQ continues to work with the city and the Environmental Protection Agency to address ongoing wastewater collection and treatment issues. The advisory may be revised as needed.
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