Water emergency declared for Mississippi capital
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said that he is declaring a state of emergency after excessive rainfall exacerbated problems in one of the state capital's water-treatment plants and caused low water pressure through much of the capital city.
The low pressure raised concerns about firefighting and about people's ability to take showers or flush toilets.
Reeves said the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency will start distributing both drinking water and non-potable water in the city of 150,000 residents, and the National Guard will be called in to help.
Video Transcript
TATE REEVES: This is a very different situation from a boil water notice, which is also a serious situation which residents of Jackson have become tragically numb to. Until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water.
DANIEL EDNEY: The water is not safe to drink. And I would even say it's not safe to brush your teeth with because we are not seeing adequate coordination and ability to consistently disinfect the wall.
