Jackson, Mississippi has been facing a water crisis for decades, with a water system that is one of the oldest in the country. Despite the national attention and help that was received last summer, the water crisis in the city persists. Nearly 83% of the city’s 150,000 residents are Black, and they have been largely relying on bottled water for their daily needs since the O.B. Curtis Water Plant failed in August.
The outpouring of help that took place in August has now faded, and grassroots organizers are running out of resources to help those in need. The high volume of donated water and funds were depleted quickly, leaving the organizers struggling to meet the needs of the residents. The Mississippi State Department of Health is working to address elevated levels of lead in the drinking water in Jackson, but the city and state officials seem to be ignoring the needs of the residents.
Promises of aid were made during the summer outage, with Mississippi set to receive $429 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to fix its water and wastewater systems. However, in October, the EPA announced that it would investigate whether Jackson had handled federal funds in a discriminatory manner. This investigation came in response to a federal complaint filed by the NAACP, which alleged that Mississippi officials had caused a drinking water calamity in Jackson by depriving the city of funds to upgrade its infrastructure.
The residents of Jackson have been suffering for a long time, with extremely low temperatures freezing pipes, broken pipes, and winter storms leaving many without running water. The community groups are trying their best to help the residents, but without much help from the government sources, it’s a difficult task. Cooperation Jackson is now only able to provide water at occasional events in the city and operates a hotline in which residents can call and request the little water the group has access to.
In conclusion, the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, persists, and the residents are still in dire need of help. The community groups are doing their best to meet the needs of the residents, but without much help from the government sources, it’s a difficult task. The residents of Jackson deserve access to clean and safe drinking water, and it’s high time the government takes action to address this crisis.