The biggest city in Mississippi has ran out of water forever, leaving 180,000 residents unable to take showers, flush the toilets, or drink from their faucets.
After being overrun by recent floods, which wrecked backup systems intended to alleviate the ailing facility’s primary treatment gear, the OB Curtis water plant in Jackson was shut down.
Now that authorities are starting to distribute cases of water bottles in a “massively difficult logistical endeavor,” the capital city’s 150,000 residents and the 30,000 nearby towns are under pressure to save their supplies.
Reeves said at a news conference on Monday that “the city cannot supply enough water to battle fires, to consistently flush toilets, and to satisfy other important demands.”
It would be very difficult logistically to replace the major flowing water infrastructure of our city with a human distribution system. It must be available for up to 180,000 individuals for an unspecified amount of time.
The City of Jackson has been under a boil-water alert ever since the water quality started to deteriorate in July.
The Mississippi State Department of Health urged Jackson residents to boil their water for one minute before using it to cook with, drink from, create ice, brush their teeth with, or wash dishes.
The restoration of the water plant may take up to four months.
Jackson, Mississippi ran out of water indefinitely leaving about 180,000 residents without water. Now, officials scramble to pass out cases of water bottles to residents. Pictured: First responders and recruits in Jackson carrying cases of water bottles to vehicles on August 18 amid water issues
Gov. Tate Reeves said the city has struggled with its water infrastructure for years and blamed the failing infrastructure on poor upkeep. Pictured: Mississippi water plant
Residents can expect the water plant to be down for days. It is unclear when the plant will be running again
On Monday, Governor Reeves (above) said that among other “essential requirements,” there is not enough water to “fight fires” or “flush toilets.”
According to Reeves, the water treatment facility has been operating at or near its limit since the motors that drive the pumps recently failed, along with the backup pumps on Monday.
If nothing fundamentally changed, Reeves said, “We were informed on Friday that there was no way to forecast precisely when, but that it was near likely that Jackson would begin to fail to produce water sometime in the following few weeks or months.”
Before the facility failed more quickly than anticipated, Reeves started planning for the water disaster over the weekend.
The recent floods that ravaged the state last week, according to Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba (above), are to responsible for the water shortage.
In an effort to resume operations, state authorities intend to set up an incident command center at the facility on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
We won’t have dependable flowing water at scale until it is repaired, he said.
The state will start emergency repairs to swiftly restore the water production in the meantime. Uncertainty exists on the extent of the city’s water shortage.
The recent floods in Mississippi, according to Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, have put a strain on the city’s water system, despite the governor attributing the issue to years of subpar infrastructure.
Lumumba said, “The Pearl River is dropping more quickly than anticipated.”
We all know that our water-treatment plant is quite vulnerable.
Residents are receiving cases of water bottles as part of a “massively demanding logistical endeavor.”
Last week, flooding in Central Mississippi was a problem as a result of many days of heavy rain in Jackson. On Monday, Jackson’s Pearl River overflowed, flooding streets and at least one house.
The Pearl River crested at about 35.4 feet, according to the National Weather Service. That is below the 36-foot major flood stage threshold.
According to Mississippi Today, the city’s public schools said Monday night that they would switch entirely to virtual instruction as long as the water shortages persisted.
There are two water treatment facilities in Jackson, and the bigger facility is next to a reservoir that supplies the majority of the city’s water needs. Additionally, the reservoir aids with flood prevention.
The city’s water system has long-standing issues.
A substantial number of individuals were left without running water in 2021 due to pipes freezing. Smaller versions of the same issues cropped up again towards the beginning of this year.
Floodwaters that were filthy and snake-infested entered Jackson houses in the hardest-hit communities two years ago when heavy rains raised the river to 36.7 feet.
Evacuation orders were issued in 2020 when the Pearl River crested at its third-highest level ever due to days of nonstop rain. Since 1983, or 37 years before, the river hadn’t been that high in the region.
The Pearl River in Mississippi crested at 36.7 feet in 2020, which was the third-highest ever recorded.