Ridgeland’s New Water Tank

CITY OF RIDGELAND HELD GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR NEW WATER TANK

RIDGELAND, MS – The City of Ridgeland held the groundbreaking ceremony today for the South Highland Colony tank and well project. Representatives from Waggoner Engineering, Hemphill Construction, Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Gene McGee, the Board of Aldermen, Alan Hart, Director of Public Works, Pastor Justin Graves of First Ridgeland Baptist Church, City staff, and the media were all in attendance.

“This project demonstrates the City’s continued focus on quality water. The new water tank and well are a vital addition to our City’s infrastructure and will help us meet the growth demands in the area. Ridgeland has always been proud of its highly-rated water system, and water quality is one of our top priorities,” stated Mayor McGee.

The need for the new tank and well was identified in the 2020 Water Master Plan that the Mayor and Board adopted. Soon after, the Mayor and Board began seeking possible funding sources. As growth continued, the need only grew more. “Thank you to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen for their vision and expectation to have the best water system in the State. These leaders truly understand and respect the importance of water quality and what it means to the success of a community,” stated Alan Hart.

The 1,000,000-gallon Water Storage Tank will increase our storage capacity by 30%. This increased capacity will allow Ridgeland to continue to pursue growth in commercial businesses, new neighborhoods, and other economic development opportunities. This tank and well project is designed to improve water quality by delivering even fresher water than we are already delivering to this area. This well is planned to increase the pumping capacity in Ridgeland by 20%. Waggoner Engineering and Hemphill Construction have partnered with the City on this project.

The total construction cost for the tank and well is $9.6 Million. “Mayor McGee successfully got a Congressional Spending Request through the State and Tribal Assistance Grant program in 2023. A special thanks goes out to Senator Roger Wicker, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Congressman Michael Guest for their support of the funding request. As time went on, costs continued to escalate faster than ever before, but we were able to introduce ARPA Funds into the funding strategy. Thanks to the State of Mississippi and our local delegation, we received an MCWI Grant to match the ARPA Funds we pledged to the project. There are very few local dollars going toward the completion of this project,” stated Alan Hart.