JACKSON, MS

Building a better water supply system for Baptist Medical Center

Mississippi Baptist Medical Center has been in Jackson since 1911 and has grown to include a 564-bed hospital, along with a variety of health and medical services for people in every stage of life. Baptist employs approximately 3,200 people, with that number expected to increase to 5,000 within a 20-year planning period.  For many years, the City of Jackson provided potable water and fire protection for the center. In 2009, water consumption was 157 million gallons per year. Over the same 20-year planning period, water usage is projected to increase to 172 million gallons per year.

After experiencing two extended periods of interrupted water service from the City supply within a two-year period, Baptist elected to construct an independent potable water supply on campus while maintaining a connection to the City system for redundancy. This system will ensure the center will be able to provide safe drinking water and fire protection should the City again experience extended service outages.

Baptist contracted with Neel-Schaffer to design an independent potable water supply for the center that would also provide sufficient storage and distribution capacity to meet fire protection requirements for the campus. A hydraulic analysis was performed to determine water main sizes and storage requirements. The system designed by Neel-Shaffer included two deep wells (one at 700-gallons per minute and one at 400-gallons per minute) drilled into the Sparta formation, and a one-million gallon composite water storage tank, together with approximately 3,000 feet of ductile iron pipe that ranges from 6 to 16 inches in diameter. Also provided was a chloramination system, housed in a chemical building.

The office for the water operator is housed within the pedestal of the elevated water tank.