In December 2022, Magnolia Water finalized a landmark consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — a move that allowed the company to acquire 209 water and wastewater systems from Total Environmental Solutions, Inc. (TESI), serving approximately 45,000 customers. The acquisition doubled Magnolia’s customer base overnight, but more importantly, it gave the company the authority to fix what others had left broken for decades.

100 of the TESI systems had been operating under a federal consent decree since December 21, 2000, following repeated Clean Water Act violations and persistent exceedances with state compliance limits.  Despite federal oversight, raw sewage continued to flow into Louisiana’s estuaries, and systemic failures remained unresolved across the state.  An additional 74 wastewater systems not under the federal decree required state consent agreements due to long-term violations of permitted system limits.

Magnolia Water stepped in with a bold promise: to bring every failing system into full compliance within 3.5 years, by May 31, 2026. Today, that goal is nearly achieved. Of the 100 systems initially on the federal consent decree, 57 have been removed and brought into compliance with the remaining 43 undergoing the necessary investments to be removed by May. Of the 74 systems on state consent agreements, 73 are now compliant. The company has invested more than $70 million in infrastructure upgrades across the former TESI systems. According to Magnolia officials, sites that once discharged untreated sewage now operate with reliable, compliant wastewater treatment systems that serve communities safely and dependably.

“These upgrades are more than just infrastructure improvements,” noted Josiah Cox, President and CEO of CSWR. “In the case of the TESI sites, we stepped in to clean up a legacy of neglect.  Magnolia Water didn’t just inherit a problem – we took ownership of the solution.   As a partner in Louisiana’s communities, we’re committed to providing compliant water and wastewater services that protect public health and help preserve local waterways. We’re proud to give Louisiana families the security of clean water and a healthier environment, and we’ll keep investing boldly to protect both – for generations to come.”