A look back at Jackson, Mississippi's ongoing issue with water

Joyce Orlando, USATNetwork
·3 min read
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Jackson, Mississippi's underlying issues with its water treatment infrastructure has made itself known once again after a state of emergency was called after excessive rain and flooding.

On Monday night, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency after the failure of one of the capital city's water treatment plants. Mayor Chokwe Lumumba also declared a state of emergency due to the failing water system that has left residences and businesses experiencing low water pressure and being under a boil water notice for a month.

RelatedJackson water crisis: State of emergency, governor press update, all Jackson schools go virtual

Previous coverage:Jackson City Council asks mayor to hire company to manage city's drinking water. Here's why.

"Due to complications from the Pearl River flooding, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is declaring a water system emergency as water pressure issues at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant are resulting in low or no water pressure for many Jackson customers," the city said in a statement announcing the state of emergency. "The water shortage is likely to last the next couple of days."

This incident has become part of a long list of issues including sewage overfill into the Pearl River, water treatment system failures and lead in the water.

Empty jugs waiting to be filling with water sit on the front porch of a Jackson, Miss., home in March 2021.
Empty jugs waiting to be filling with water sit on the front porch of a Jackson, Miss., home in March 2021.

Jackson's ongoing issue with water

A November 2021 citywide water outage highlighted the more than 50 years of failures to properly maintain the Jackson's water and sewer systems. As this was happening, Jackson Democrats were advocating for the city's fair share of federal funds the state received as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in November 2021 by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mississippi received $1.8 billion in funds, with $459 million is earmarked for water improvements across Mississippi. The problem? To fix Jackson's water system would cost an estimated $1 billion. And another $1 billion for the sewage system.

Clarion Ledger's 2021 investigation on Jackson's water crisis

For years, Jackson residents have questioned whether their water was safe to drink. In 2015, high levels of lead were found in the city’s drinking water. From June 21, 2015, to May 28, 2021, Jackson sampled its water for lead 1,352 times. Of those samples, 66% contained lead, according to records examined by the Clarion Ledger.

Any amount of lead is harmful.

For years the water treatment plant, and by extension the community, has dealt with everything from bad batch of chemicals, an electrical fire to winter storms crippling the water and sewer systems for a month.

Recent flooding highlight Jackson's water crisis

In Reeves' declaration on Monday night, he also issued an emergency order directing the state’s Emergency Management Agency to install an “Incident Command Center” at the city’s O. B. Curtis water treatment plant near the reservoir. With the intent of making emergency repairs to the system.

Dr. Daniel Edney, state health officer, said water testing conducted by the Mississippi State Health Department over the past month has determined the water currently provided by Jackson is unsafe.

"The water is not safe to drink or even brush your teeth with,” Edney said, adding that any use of tap water for cooking or consumption “needs to be fully boiled.”

Reeves didn't mention "takeover" but did say he wants to work cooperatively with the city to find long-term solutions.

USA Today and the Mississippi Clarion Ledger contributed to this report.

Joyce Orlando is a digital producer with the South Digital Optimization Team. Support local journalism like this by becoming a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Jackson, Mississippi water crisis: What happened before