The vast majority of Franklin’s water quality and pressure issues are not storm-related. And if they’re not storm-related, there is no excuse for the continuing disruption and poor water quality citizens are having to endure.

After reviewing Mayor Raymond Harris’ explanations for the current problem, we have concluded that the mayor is being misled by his own employees. He cannot tolerate that and we will not tolerate illogical excuses whether they’re second-hand or not.

In Tuesday’s Banner-Tribune Harris said the reason for the murky water was "debris" in the lines.

A water system is a pressurized closed-loop system. If a line breaks, water rushes out, preventing debris from getting in. The only way to introduce debris into a water system is at the water plant. Debris is not the same as sediment but sediment did not cause the gross discoloration in the city’s water this week. We suspect a filter was bypassed or a procedure ignored, that allowed contaminated, or not fully treated water into the system.

That doesn’t mean it was unsafe to drink. But it does mean somebody conveyed an excuse to the mayor that won’t stand up to reality. Shame on them for telling the tall tale and shame on the mayor for repeating it.

We also note, with interest, that prior to the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, Franklin experienced a power failure and, simultaneously, a water failure. Water pressure is supposed to come from water towers, which are unaffected by electricity or any other third-party dependency. If you lose water pressure when the power goes out there is only one logical explanation … the towers are empty.

The Banner-Tribune was told Tuesday that one tower is full of clean fresh water and the other is empty. We have reason to believe that is not true. One of the tower columns may have water in it, but it is certain that both tower tanks are empty. If the tower has water then why do we lose pressure when the power fails? And, by the way, where did the clean fresh water come from? City water has been upside down for more than three weeks and you can’t keep fresh water fresh in tower storage for long.

We know we have empty towers and that concerns us on a number of levels.

Those towers need to be full in hurricane season for two reasons – the wind can easily topple an empty tower and what do we do if a tornado in a hurricane destroys the water plant or temporarily renders it idle? Thirdly, what if a major fire occurs?

A city’s water system is a serious component and we do not feel those in charge of Franklin’s water supply are handling their responsibility properly.

It is obvious that problems are being glossed over and we have now reached a tipping point where the wheels are coming off the wagon. What we suspect is the towers are not being filled because the pressure created from tower distribution is popping old lines in the city. To bypass this problem the water crew is using the distribution pumps, at increased expense, to pressurize the system at a lower rate that doesn’t bust old lines.

The tower(s) being empty has created another problem. When empty for extended periods towers start to rust from within. Now, the tower(s) will have to undergo flushing and decontamination before they can be used again.

We’re not sure how Harris intends to get to the bottom of this but it’s obvious to us that heads should roll. Harris has appeared reluctant to pay any city employee more than the mayor himself makes. That policy needs to be buried. The mayor’s salary is capped by the city charter. City department heads can and in some cases, should, be paid more than that.

Qualified, certified people are not cheap. And when it comes to our water supply, Harris needs to find someone who can run the system as it is supposed to be run.