USDA Pledges Support To Transform City Grid
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WATER VALLEY — USDA Rural Development State Director Dane Maxwell said Wednesday that he wants Water Valley to become a “model city” for how the federal government can partner with rural communities, pledging long-term support to help update the city’s aging electric system and provide other assistance. Maxwell, joined by Deputy Director Cady Lackey and a team of USDA officials, met with members of the Water Valley Electric Commission, Fire Chief Mark McGavock and other city leaders at City Hall before touring the city’s electric grid and fire and police station.
“I want to make Water Valley a model for Mississippi and rural America — a demonstration of what a federal agency can do when it truly works for rural America,” Maxwell said during Wednesday meeting.
Maxwell previously served with Electric Commission Chairman Brandon Presley on the Mississippi Public Service Commission, and Presley initially reached out for an earlier meeting in Jackson with Maxwell that was attended by city officials.
Presley and the city’s engineering consultant, Jeff Atwell with Atwell & Gent, provided an overview of the system’s condition and invited Maxwell during Wednesday’s meeting, Presley noted that the federal commitment comes at a critical time. He explained that earlier this year Water Valley was dangerously close to a systemwide failure similar to the crisis in Holly Springs.
The Holly Springs Utility Department (HSUD) has come under intense scrutiny after an independent review found the system in “critical condition,” citing years of mismanagement, deferred maintenance and safety lapses. The problem triggered national new media coverage when HSUD struggled to pay for the electricity that it resells to customers.
“Just months ago, we were on the ten-yard line of a Holly Springs-type situation,” Presley said. “That’s where generational neglect has left us.”
Presley said the electric commission, which was enacted on August 1, is working on planning to address long-standing problems before they become emergencies. Much of the concern centers on a antiquated grid.
Atwell briefed Maxwell on one of the most pressing issue: nearly half the city remains on a 4kV distribution system abandoned by most utilities decades ago. Water Valley Electric Commission Superintendent Brandon Richardson estimated that roughly 1,000 customers — a little less than half of the entire service area — are still connected to the obsolete network. Converting those customers to the modern 13kV standard will require replacing transformers, arresters, cutouts and service equipment at hundreds of locations and will cost millions.
“There’s a reason nobody uses 4kV anymore,” Presley noted during Wednesday’s meeting. “It’s unreliable, inefficient, and parts are almost impossible to find. But almost half of our customers are still on it.”
Atwell said the conversion is essential to improving reliability and reducing the city’s staggering line losses, which currently sit at 6.2 percent — likely the highest of any municipal system in Mississippi. Comparable systems operate around three percent. “If we bring that down to three percent, that’s $147,000 a year saved — every year, forever,” Presley said. “That money stabilizes rates and gets reinvested in the system.”
Atwell also walked Maxwell through concerns at the city’s lone substation, built in the 1950s and described as a seventy-year-old single point of failure. It operates with one transformer, one circuit switcher, one regulator and no redundancy. “Every piece of equipment in that yard is a single point of failure,” Atwell said. “If one component fails, the entire city goes dark.”
After reviewing the electric system, Maxwell met with Fire Chief Mark McGavock and Police Chief Jason Mangrum to discuss infrastructure needs at the combined fire and police station. McGavock told USDA officials he plans to apply for federal funding to pave the station’s gravel parking lot, which becomes difficult to navigate during rain, and to purchase needed fire equipment, including gear that must be replaced to remain in compliance with safety standards.
Mangrum reported that purchasing patrol vehicles are among his top priorities. Maxwell said USDA Rural Development would work closely with the city to identify eligible programs for both facilities and equipment.
Presley also outlined progress made since the commission’s creation in August, noting that vegetation management has been completed citywide; 48 poles were replaced through a partnership with TVEPA/TVIfiber; meter testing and replacement are underway; quarterly substation diagnostics have begun; an AI-driven outage reporting system is now linked to AMI meters; and a public-facing outage map is available for the first time in city history. A systemwide pole inspection and treatment program will begin in mid-January.
“We’re squeezing every dime we have,” Presley said. “But the big projects — the 4kV conversion, the second substation — require outside investment.” Atwell agreed, telling Maxwell the city is taking care of the low-hanging fruit while working on a long-term plan for the remaining upgrades.
Maxwell said Water Valley’s willingness to confront its problems head-on is exactly what USDA wants in a partner community. “You’re doing everything you can with what you have,” he said.
“That’s the kind of partnership we want. We can stack programs, stack dollars, and bring every resource available.”
Before leaving, Maxwell told city officials he intends to bring national USDA leadership to Water Valley to show what sustained federal involvement can accomplish. Presley said the city is ready for that level of commitment. “We finally have our sea legs under us,” he said. “Now we can show, line by line, how an investment in Water Valley pays dividends for decades.”
USDA State Director Dane Maxwell (left) and Water Valley Electric Commission Chairman Brandon Presley previously served together as Mississippi Public Service commissioners from 2020 to 2024. Prior to that, Maxwell served as the Mayor of Pascagoula.
