April Smith, a resident of south Jackson’s Blossom Apartments, returned from an outpatient surgery Wednesday to find that her water services had been shut off.
She’d seen it coming. Her landlord had been in the news in recent months for falling behind on the property’s water bill by more than $400,000.
JXN Water, the city’s privately operated water utility, had indicated water shutoffs at Blossom and other complexes with delinquent accounts were possible but not imminent. Smith and her neighbors found their taps dry Wednesday – a sweltering summer day reaching 97 degrees.
Anticipating this could happen, Smith had filled up her bathtub and pots with water, allowing her to at least flush the toilet. She planned to visit her mother’s home a few miles up the street to bathe.
Blossom Apartments LLC owner Tony Little, whose trouble with JXN Water dates back at least a year, did not respond to a call or email from Mississippi Today Wednesday afternoon, but the Louisiana-based businessman told WLBT in 2024 that he rejected the company’s assessment of what he owed.
JXN Water interim third-party manager Ted Henifin retorted, telling WLBT this week, “He has to pay his bill.”
Water is not the only issue at Blossom, a 72-unit property initially built in 2004 through low-income housing tax credits administered by the state to offer affordable rents to Jackson residents. Smith has lived there for nearly a year and a half, and said she’s been plagued with problems such as faulty air conditioning units and black mold in her apartment.
“Now we’re suffering,” said Smith, 50. “What are we going to do? We’ve been paying. What are y’all doing with our money?”
To her, the water shutoff underscores the issue of poor management. She said the property managers are only accessible on the days rental payments are due.
“They don’t come to the office. They ain’t answer no letters. They ain’t knock on no doors. They ain’t tell us nothing,” Smith said.
Earlier this year, JXN Water released a list of multi-family accounts that had more than $100,000 in unpaid water fees. Blossom was on the list. JXN Water was not able to provide a comment as of press time.
Smith said she receives a housing voucher from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department for $543 a month. But now without water, she doesn’t want to pay her portion of the $800 rent, which is also supposed to cover water. She didn’t pay her June or July rent after learning that the water was at risk of being shut off. Earlier this month, she and others who didn’t pay received a notice to submit rent within three days or face an eviction filing in court.
Smith said she’s planning to move from Blossom to another Jackson apartment complex within the next couple of weeks.
“They don’t care,” she said. “When you try to be nice, they don’t care. I’m disabled. I don’t need this.”
Lillie Wilcher, another resident of Blossom Apartments, said she would move if she could, but it’s too expensive.
“How can we find somewhere else to go if we’re having to keep paying rent over here?” Wilcher asked. “I’m disabled. I live check to check. It don’t make sense. How will we find somewhere else to go?”
When she first moved to the complex about eight months ago, Wilcher said she didn’t have a refrigerator for months, which is a necessity for her since she needs to keep her insulin cold. But she soon traded one problem for another – once maintenance got her a fridge, her stove went out.
“It’s just hectic over here. It’s depressing, and I’m ready to go,” Wilcher said. “I’ve been trying so hard to find somewhere else to go.”
Now, without water, she planned to go to the nearby grocery store to stockpile bottled water. She has to have water for an oxygen machine when she sleeps.
“It’s too hot to be here,” Wilcher said. “It’s getting hotter. It’s too hot to be without water.”
