Where The US Water Crisis Is Most Severe
Many parts of the US are currently experiencing a water crisis. However, it's currently most severe in Jackson, Mississippi.
As of July this year, the 200,000 residents of Jackson, Mississippi have been under a boil-water notice, with an ongoing system failure of the city’s water treatment plants that were only made worse by recent flooding and broken system pumps. The water crisis is forcing the residents to use bottled water for brushing their teeth and leaving them to keep their eyes closed if they choose to shower in non-sanitary water. In what amount to a sliver of hope for those suffering, the local government has reportedly started to make “significant gains” in repairs and appropriate staffing as they attempt to restore access to clean water.
Despite recent reports of improvement, the BBC highlighted that the residents of Jackson, Mississippi are yet facing another water crisis after recent flooding damaged the water treatment facility again. With a winter storm that began in February of this year causing system pumps to break, the residents have not gone one month without a notice to boil their water to ensure safety with consumption. The water crisis has gone further than just the constant water boil notices. Most residents are also having to deal with little to no water pressure.
In order to provide immediate help for the Jackson residents experiencing a continual water crisis, seven state-run water distributions were added on Thursday. Local organizations such as Operation Good have stepped up efforts to get drinking water to as many residents as possible until the water crisis can be fully resolved. The program manager of Operation Good, Gino Womack, says the demand for drinking water has increased throughout the week and they are going through hundreds of cases of water within an hour. Contributions from across the country are greatly impacting the ability to keep up with the demand for drinking water as the residents work through the water crisis.
The water crisis was brought on by system issues, equipment failures, and staffing shortages at the water treatment facility in Jackson, Mississippi. According to the city’s Mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the residents have lost running water for an indefinite amount of time. That is until the above can all be resolved to end the water crisis. The city’s water crisis can be attributed to years of lack of maintenance of the facility and Lumumba added the required resolution would be costly. It has been estimated it will cost at least $1 billion dollars to fix the water distribution system and facility. “Lumumba stated, “This is a set of accumulated problems based on the deferred maintenance that’s not taken place over decades.”
The residents of Jackson are feeling angry, frustrated, and fearful for the health of their children if this water crisis can not be resolved soon. During a news conference on Monday, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said a central pump at Jackson’s O.B. Curtis Water Treatment plant was damaged and forced the city to utilize backup pumps during the water crisis. A State of Emergency was declared on Tuesday. This activated the state’s National Guard to help all state officials deal with the ongoing water crisis.
Reeves said the shortage of water is making it difficult for Jackon to produce enough water to fight fires, and flush toilets, along with other essential needs. The residents of Jackson can be seen lined up on the roadways and highways throughout the city attempting to get to water distribution sites until the water crisis can ultimately be resolved and they can once again have safe reliable drinking water.
