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A firefighter carries water bottles to residents' cars
Photo: Rogelio V. Solis/AP
No drinking water, no flushing toilets, risk of fires: The city of Jackson in the USA is struggling with a lack of drinking water and running water in general.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves reported serious problems in Jackson's water treatment system on Monday evening (local time).
The city of about 150,000 people currently has “no reliable running water on a large scale”.
This is not only a problem with regard to drinking water, but for the water supply in general.
"It means the city can't produce enough water for firefighting, reliable toilet flushing and other essential needs," Reeves said.
"Don't drink the water," he warned, eyeing water still coming through the pipes.
»In too many cases it is raw water from the reservoir that is pressed through the pipes.«
Problems were brewing
To mobilize additional personnel and resources, Reeves declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to assist.
For the time being, water should be distributed to the residents of the city.
This is an "extremely complicated logistical task," Reeves said: "We have to care for up to 180,000 people for an unknown period of time." He also referred to people in the city's suburbs.
Jackson is the largest city in Mississippi in the southern United States.
"We will do everything in our power to restore water pressure and bring water back to the people of Jackson," Reeves promised.
However, he also admitted that the problems had been looming for a long time.
However, damage to several pumps at the city's central water treatment plant would have exacerbated the situation.
The region has recently had to contend with heavy rainfall and flooding.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the federal government stands ready to help.
The civil protection agency Fema is in contact with representatives of the state.
And the environmental agency Epa is working to speed up the delivery of important processing equipment for emergency repairs.
kko/dpa