Officials on federal, state, and local levels are responding to the collapse of the municipal water delivery system in Jackson, Mississippi, the state’s capital and largest city.
An aging water system that had suffered from decades of benign neglect as the 80 percent African-American city’s tax base shrank and state contributions for repairs dried up was overwhelmed last week when storms flooded the Pearl River and the Ross R. Barnett Reservoir, the city’s main source of water.
Water from that reservoir passes through the O.B. Curtis treatment plant before reaching customers. Last week’s deluge drastically increased the amount of floodwater runoff contaminants reaching the Curtis plant, which had been running on backup pumps for weeks after the main pump failed. This week those backup pumps failed to handle the added strain, leading to Jackson customers seeing little to no water pressure.
Despite emergency efforts being in play to bring bottled water to 160,000 residents, many have been left without water after supplies ran out quicker than expected.
On Monday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m., Gov. Tate Reeves called a news conference to address the problem, declaring the city is in an emergency.
From now until further instructions, based on recommendations from the state’s health department, residents are urged not to waste water, to treat the water from faucets they use, and consider stocking up on bottled water, according to Mississippi Today.
According to State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney, those living in the Jackson area should “husband their water resources,” boiling the water they use for at least three minutes before using it to drink, cook, bathe or brush their teeth.
Reeves explained the O.B. Curtis treatment plant has been compromised and is not operating properly. This comes only weeks after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took the Jackson City Council was not staffed well enough with industry-standard professionals, noting only two Class-A operators, supervisors over the building, and four vacancies are at the plant, WAPT.com reports.
The recommendation from the federal agency for the City Council is to always have three Class-A operators to make sure the plant is operating properly 24/7.
Public Works Director Marlin King said, “We have two operators that will be taking the class-A operator exam within the next month.” He said then planning to increase the salary for the position and try to bring former operators out of retirement. But by Tuesday evening multiple reports saying King had resigned were circulating across local media.
The governor applauded those that are currently working, acknowledging the lack of support they have, saying, “The operators (of the O.B. Curtis facility) have been heroic, just not enough of them.” Already the Mississippi State Department of Health has stepped in to assist those operators currently working to get the plant up to par.
In addition to manning the facility, key infrastructure modifications must be completed for the plant to work at its proper capacity. Typically, O.B. Curtis provides about 50 million gallons of water to the city each day. The backup plant, Fewell, which typically has a daily output of 20 million gallons has been amped up to provide 30 million during this crisis.
Still, Reeves said he doesn’t know exactly how much of the city will be without water because of the broken plant.
Reeves said to the media, “Until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water at scale” and the city will not “produce enough water to fight fires, to reliably flush toilets, and to meet other critical needs.”
An hour before the governor’s announcement, Jackson’s mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, declared a water system emergency, saying in a written statement, “water shortage is likely to last the next couple of days.”
Before the announcements, the governor (Republican) and mayor (Democrat) did not speak directly to each other but agreed to work together.
During the conference, Reeves noted he did not know about the severity of Jackson’s water crisis until Friday, Aug. 26., when officials informed him about the city using backup pumps for the system because its main pumps were “damaged severely” a month prior (July 29).
He said, “We were told on Friday that there was no way to predict exactly when, but that it was a near certainty that Jackson would begin to fail to produce running water sometime in the next several weeks or months if something didn’t materially improve.”
Adding, “We began preparing for a scenario where Jackson would be without running water for an extended period.”
A short-term plan involves the state paying for emergency improvements, maintenance, and repairs. It will also contract operators to help with the needs of the treatment plant.
Lumumba and Reeves agreed that the city would pay for half of the cost to fix the problem.
President Joe Biden approved Mississippi’s emergency declaration and ordered federal assistance to supplement the state’s efforts to help Jackson.
White House release states, “The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security [and the] Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Hinds County.”
“FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment, and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency,” it continued. “Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding for a period of 90 days.”
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency executive director Stephen McCraney said the state plans to “come up with a solution that will be great for the city of Jackson.” The state brought in both water for drinking and for other sanitary needs to be distributed like in cases of natural disasters like hurricanes.
CNN reported the process was not as easy as officials had hoped. The National Guard assisted in distributing bottled water, but long lines that included people of all ages and health statuses lined up for more than a mile at Hawkins Field Airport. For some people, the wait was about two hours for one case of bottled water.
After that two-hour mark, the supplies were exhausted, and their 700 cases of water were gone. Many people were turned away without receiving anything.
“I keep saying we’re going to be the next Michigan,” said Jeraldine Watts, 86, who was able to get water at a grocery store Monday night. “And it looks like that’s exactly what we’re headed for.”
Other emergency measures have been taken as the breakdown has impacted schools from early education to higher ed.
On Monday, after the politicians made their remarks, Jackson Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in the state, announced students will return to virtual learning “indefinitely” because of the water shortage.
Jackson State University will also hold instruction virtually for the rest of the week, informing parents and guardians that students will be provided water in all residential halls and temporary restrooms are being made available for the JSU family.
JSU football coach Deion Sanders commented on the emergency and how it is impacting his team days before the season opener.
In a video on Instagram, he said, “We’re hit with a little crisis. The city of Jackson, we don’t have water. Water means we don’t have air conditioning. We can’t use toilets. We don’t have water. We don’t have ice.”
The Hall of Famer said the shortage “pretty much places a burden on the program” and everyone is “operating in crisis mode.”
“I’ve got to get these kids off campus,” he remarked. “The ones that live on campus, the ones that live in the city of Jackson into a hotel and accommodate them so they can shower properly and take care of their needs.”
