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Water crisis in Jackson: Authorities distribute water in drinking bottles
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SETH HERALD/AFP
No water for showering, flushing the toilet and drinking: About a week ago, the water supply in Jackson, Mississippi, collapsed.
Since then, many people in the city of 150,000 have had no usable drinking water coming out of the tap and there is no end in sight to the dramatic situation.
The situation is "unbearable," residents of the city are quoted in the US media as saying.
State authorities are trying to contain at least the greatest need.
"Right now the focus is on distributing bottled drinking water," Deanne Criswell, head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, told CNN on Sunday.
"But we're also providing temporary measures to increase water pressure so people can at least flush their toilets and use the faucets."
Children forced into homeschooling due to water crisis
After heavy rain and flooding, the city's already ailing water treatment plant collapsed several days ago.
The state governor, Tate Reeves, called on people last Monday to stop drinking the water that still comes through the pipes.
According to a report by the Washington Post, the school board sent the students of the state schools to distance learning.
They should not return to the classrooms until the water supply is working properly again.
It's just unclear when that will be.
As CNN reports, while progress is being made in repairing the water system, some parts of the city are already experiencing higher water pressure in the pipes, but not others.
Governor has declared a state of emergency
The ongoing water crisis is an "imminent health threat," Reeves told the Washington Post.
In order to mobilize additional personnel and resources, he declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to provide support.
600 soldiers should help out at seven water distribution points throughout the state capital.
In the past week, more than 100 semitrailer trucks loaded with water were also on their way to Jackson.
The governor announced at least one water treatment pump would be repaired early next week.
However, it is not yet possible to predict when the water supply will be restored throughout the city.
Criswell said on Sunday: "I think it's too early to tell." This will happen gradually.
Water system has been failing for years
However, the patience of the people in the city has long been exhausted.
Because the water problems are by no means new, as criticized by many other people in Jackson and the head of civil protection.
"There's a lot of infrastructure damage that's been going on for many years," Criswell said.
The water system has been failing for years, critics complain, because government agencies have not invested enough money in maintenance and renewal.
Even when water flows from the taps, people have not been sure that they can safely drink it for years.
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According to the report, the city repeatedly recommends boiling water from the tap.
A woman tells the Washington Post that she spends $200 a month on bottled drinking water because the quality of the tap water is poor.
In 2021, the supply was even lost for a whole month.
A man tells the BBC that he had no running water for six weeks in 2020.
According to the report, some parts of the city are more affected by the lack of maintenance of the water system than others.
All in all, the black population in particular suffers, criticize local activists according to the BBC.
This week, the sewage treatment plant in Jackson was completely out of action, in part due to severe flooding, resulting in the acute water crisis.
A plumber from the city is quoted in the Washington Post as saying that the situation has one good thing, and the problems have received the nationwide attention they deserve: "People are finally seeing what's going on here."
fok/dpa
