Efforts by the Pearl River County Utility Authority have improved the infrastructure in Pearl River County.

Thursday, the Utility Authority’s Board of Directors heard an update about work that improved the city of Picayune’s wastewater system.

Not only is the first round of that work complete, but a second round is in the planning stages.

All told, the agency intends to invest $12 million between the two projects to improve the condition of the system. In that work, aging sewer lines were given new life with a special polymer that lined the inside of old sewer pipes and manholes.

The material is cheaper than tearing up old sewer pipes to install new ones, and is said to last about as long as replacements.

To install new lines would entail tearing up streets and private property, a task that is not only more expensive for the Utility Authority, but could have set the city back in the state of its roadways.

It was a wise move to avoid tearing up the streets as much as possible, especially considering nearly every city street was paved within the past several years.

Many people objected to the formation of the Utility Authority after Hurricane Katrina, but a lot of improvements have been made to not only the wastewater system, but through the addition of water systems as well.

Prior to the formation of the Utility Authority, Poplarville was unable to add any further development.

But after the agency installed a new water well near the Pearl River County Hospital and Nursing Home, that problem was solved, paving the way for additional businesses to move in. Without that well McDonalds and the Love’s Travel Center would not have been built.

We trust that the Utility Authority will continue to invest in Pearl River County’s water and wastewater systems.