Water Rights Suit Dismissed

The United States Supreme Court denied the State of Mississippi’s petition to appeal its lawsuit brought against MLGW and the City of Memphis, and also denied Mississippi’s request to file an original complaint against MLGW, the City of Memphis and the State of Tennessee in the Supreme Court. The Court’s ruling ends the five year-long suit over the water contained in the underground aquifer that runs beneath both states.

In its suit, the State of Mississippi claimed that MLGW and the City of Memphis were taking more than their share of water from the underground interstate aquifer. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that Tennessee had to be included in any lawsuit regarding the use of the interstate water source and that the lawsuit could be heard only by the Supreme Court. In today’s rulings, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of MLGW, the City of Memphis and the State of Tennessee by rejecting both Mississippi’s attempt to appeal the Fifth Circuit’s decision and also Mississippi’s request to file a new lawsuit against MLGW, the City and the State of Tennessee.

“We are beyond overjoyed in the Supreme Court’s actions today. It means that MLGW and its customers will still be able to enjoy some of the best tasting water in world. We believed that this case was without merit, and now the Supreme Court’s decision confirms our position,” said MLGW President and CEO Jerry Collins Jr.