Cullman EMA, City of Hanceville collecting water for Jackson, MS residents

Patrick Camp, The Cullman Times, Ala.
·2 min read

Sep. 2—The Cullman County Emergency Management Agency is working with multiple agencies throughout Cullman County to collect and deliver pallets of water to Jackson, Miss.

Mississippi's capital city is struggling with its water system. Many of Jackson's 150,000 residents have had little or no water coming from their faucets the past several days.

City of Hanceville Mayor Kenneth Nail said that after being approached by EMA Director Tim Sartin, he agreed to partner with Cullman County EMA in their efforts.

"What I like to remind the folks in Hanceville and the folks in Cullman County is that they came and helped us in 2011. When these natural disasters come along it's not just a good thing to do, but it's our responsibility to help your fellow man," Nail said.

So far Nail said that the City of Hanceville has collected around 10 pallets of water from various organizations, churches and businesses. They plan to deliver the pallets to Jackson as early as Tuesday of next week, but said "I'm hoping we get up to thirty pallets."

Nail said that if individuals would like to donate cases of bottled water, they should deliver them to Hanceville City Hall. If anyone can donate an entire pallet of water, they can purchase one through Warehouse Discount Groceries in Hanceville and the city will pick-up from the store.

Problems in Jackson started days after torrential rain fell in central Mississippi and altered the quality of the raw water entering Jackson's treatment plants. That slowed the treatment process, depleted supplies in water tanks and caused a precipitous drop in pressure. Jackson has longstanding problems with water quality and it has aging pipes that break. The water treatment plants have had problems with equipment and staffing. And, Jackson has been under a federal order to fix problems with wastewater.