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NATCHEZ — Denise Jackson Smith has lived in her home at 202 Brooklyn Drive in Natchez since 2007.

In 2021, David Huber of Huber Construction sold his private water utility to Great River, a Central States Water Resources subsidiary.

Great River has instituted a series of hefty water rate increases, and residents of the 280 residences it serves are currently paying a flat rate of $107.99 for water and sewer.

To make the situation even more complicated, Smith said the water she receives at home is not drinkable and is unsafe to bathe in.

“They (Great River officials) were so arrogant. They don’t care what we think or what anybody else thinks. They are going to continue to go up,” Smith said.

She attended a hearing of the Mississippi Public Service Commission on Dec. 3 and 4 to provide input on Great River’s application to raise rates further on its Mississippi customers.

In the last several years, Great River has purchased more than 130 rural, private water companies in Mississippi. About 45 residents from all over the state attended the Tuesday and Wednesday hearings in Jackson and spoke about the increases.

Smith said none of Great River’s other customers pay as much as the $107.99 flat monthly rate its Natchez customers are paying.

“All of the residents are so upset with them,” she said.

The hearings were originally scheduled for Nov. 20 and 21 but were postponed until Dec. 3 and 4. District 5 Supervisor Ricky Gray, along with Smith, former water utility owner David Huber and resident Shirley Emery attended the hearing on Tuesday.

“In the beginning, it sounded like everything was going in our favor, but the second day, it was like everything was going in favor of Great River. They said they were within guidelines for the quality of water we are getting. They said residents are uneducated about how the water system should work,” Smith said. “One thing people do know when they see it is brown water. They said because the water is brown does not mean it’s not safe.”

Smith said the Great River officials told the commission its studies show its rates could go up to as high as $250 per month.

“This is outrageous. We can’t pay that, but they said they could see it going up that high,” she said. “Nobody out here feels safe enough to even cook with this water. You are taking a risk by bathing in it. Ninety percent of the people out here do not use their water other than to flush their toilets and to bathe. They are price gouging us and I think it’s unlawful.”

Southern District Public Service Commission Wayne Carr voted to deny Great River’s rate increase request. However, the other two commissioners — Northern District’s Chris Brown and Central District’s De’Keither Stamps — voted to continue to take the request under advisement.

“Wayne Carr did an excellent job of defending and supporting us,” Smith said. “There were about 45 people there from all over the state and they were saying the same thing, ’Great River is raping us to gain a profit.’

“We need help in the Morgantown area,” Smith said. “This isn’t right and it seems as if nothing can stop them.”

Emery has lived at 504 Brooklyn Drive for 24 years and she is exasperated with the quality of water provided by Great River as well as the flat rate she is being forced to pay for that water.

“I really thought they were not going to approve an increase. There were so many there from so many counties voicing their concerns about this company,” Emery said. “They have raised the rates and said that is so they can improve the system, but they are doing nothing to improve it. And we constantly get boil water notices. You know it’s a problem when customers all over the state are having the same problem with them. All they are is the middle man and we are paying them,” she said. “I thought they would deny the rate increase and instead give them an ultimatum to get these problems fixed first, but that didn’t happen.”