State officials in Jackson, Mississippi’s capital city announced that its main water treatment facility started failing, on Monday. The city earlier had a boil water notice from late July. Now, residents are asked not to drink water as it could be raw and untreated. Clean water is a basic right for all humanity. Governor Tate Reeves has declared an emergency and the National Guard will be used to help distribute water to up to 180,000 residents of Jackson City, Mississippi.
As the city lacks enough water pressure to fight fires, or to flush toilets as well as other critical water needs in a city, officials say that the problems in the system are long standing and complicated and have become worse due to the recent flooding of the Pearl River.
Record-setting rain in the region caused the Pearl River to overflow and flood the streets. However, the water did not reach the heights of the February 2020 floods. Nevertheless, the water treatment facilities have been affected. The region has been seeing more intense floods as a result of climate change and infrastructure woes, which have to been tackled as a priority as the flooding is becoming commonplace.
Jackson Mayor Chowke Antar Lumumba acknowledged the longstanding problems that had been a part of the water system in the city. He said that there were issues at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant.
Last year, the city also failed an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspection on the quality of its drinking water. In July 2021, the EPA and the city joined together to address long term challenges and improvements to the drinking water system.
In a news conference on Monday night, Governor Tate Reeves said that the main water treatment facility could no longer produce “reliable running water at scale.” This meant that there would not be enough water in Jackson city “to fight fires, to reliable flush toilets and to meet other critical needs.”
Officials have announced that there are several bottled water distribution sites. Many supermarkets have also seen their water supplies fall to almost zero. The governor also said that water would have to be provided to Jackson city “for an unknown period of time.” Schools have been closed temporarily and virtual learning will begin from Tuesday.
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