The Water Crisis In Jackson Is Forcing Residents To Find Alternatives

The 73-year-old logger carried bags of ice into his truck at a gas station on his way to work Wednesday after several days without water. “What can I do? I’m just a pawn in a chess game,” he said, on one of his many trips to and from the store. “All I have to do is try to live.” People waited in lines at distribution sites and flooded stores for water to drink, bathe, cook and flush toilets Wednesday in Mississippi’s capital, amid a failure of the city’s water system after long-term worsening flooding. problems at one of the two water treatment plants. President Joe Biden, who earlier in the day approved a state of emergency declaration for the state of Mississippi, called Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba to discuss response efforts, including support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Beyond addressing the immediate crisis, Biden said he wants to provide federal support for the long-term effort to rebuild Jackson’s aging water infrastructure, which has been unreliable for years. Lumumba said Jackson’s water system is plagued by short staffing and “decades of delayed maintenance.” He said the inflow of water from the torrential rain changed the chemical composition needed for the treatment, which slowed the process of pushing water to customers. Even before the service outage, the city’s 150,000 residents were boiling their drinking water last month because officials said it could cause digestive problems. Brown said Wednesday he had stopped at the grocery store to buy four cases of water before picking up the ice. As a resident of Jackson, he said people there have lived without access to stable water for years — even when there is pressure, residents often have to boil it for drinking and cooking. In the last two years, people have completely lost the pressure. A cold snap in 2021 left tens of thousands of people without running water after pipes froze. Similar problems occurred again earlier this year, on a smaller scale. “It will be done right one day,” he said. “When, I have no idea.” Like many cities, Jackson has problems with its water system that it can’t afford to fix. Its tax base has eroded in recent decades as the population has declined — a result of the predominantly white exodus to the suburbs that began after public school integration in 1970. The city’s population is now more than 80% Black, with about 25% of residents of living in poverty. Lumumba said Tuesday that repairing Jackson’s water system could run “probably into the billions of dollars.” Mississippi is getting $75 million to address water problems as part of a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Jackson is receiving about $31 million through EPA revolving loan funds for treatment and distribution system improvements. During a press conference Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the EPA is sending personnel to Jackson for an emergency assessment of the treatment plants and to streamline the delivery of repair equipment. FEMA has staff at the emergency operations center and is coordinating with the emergency management team to identify needs, he said. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for Jackson’s water system on Tuesday. The state will try to help fix problems by hiring contractors to work on the treatment plant, which has been operating at reduced capacity with backup pumps after the main pumps failed “some time ago,” Reeves said. Bobbie Fairley, who has lived in Jackson all her life, is the owner of Magic Hand’s Hair Design in South Jackson. The 59-year-old said she had to cancel five appointments on Wednesday because she needs high water pressure to wash chemicals out of her hair during treatments. She had to buy water to wash her hair to try and fit in as many dates as she could. When customers don’t come, he loses money, he said. “That’s a big burden,” he said. “I can’t afford it. I can’t stand it at all.” Jackson State University, a historically black university, had to bring in temporary restrooms for students and was awaiting delivery of portable showers Wednesday, President Thomas Hudson said. Hudson said the city’s water issues have been an ongoing challenge for the university as it has worked to attract students to Mississippi’s capital. “It makes it difficult in terms of what we’re trying to do, our core mission, which is education,” he said. “It hasn’t helped.” He said the school is beginning work on a plan for an autonomous water system using some of the federal funding that has been allocated to historically black colleges and universities. Shannon Wilson, whose daughter just started her sophomore year at Jackson State, said her daughter’s dorm has regained some pressure, but the water coming out is brown. Her daughter left to stay with a friend off campus. But Wilson, who lives in St. Louis, can’t help but worry about her. “We feel helpless. Being over 500 miles away from Jackson, I can’t help but worry,” he said.

Goldberg is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues.

AP White House Correspondent Josh Boak contributed to this report.

title: “The Water Crisis In Jackson Is Forcing Residents To Find Alternatives Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Jennifer Martin”

The 73-year-old logger carried bags of ice into his truck at a gas station on his way to work Wednesday after several days without water. “What can I do? I’m just a pawn in a chess game,” he said, on one of his many trips to and from the store. “All I have to do is try to live.” People waited in lines at distribution sites and flooded stores for water to drink, bathe, cook and flush toilets Wednesday in Mississippi’s capital, amid a failure of the city’s water system after long-term worsening flooding. problems at one of the two water treatment plants. President Joe Biden, who earlier in the day approved a state of emergency declaration for the state of Mississippi, called Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba to discuss response efforts, including support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Beyond addressing the immediate crisis, Biden said he wants to provide federal support for the long-term effort to rebuild Jackson’s aging water infrastructure, which has been unreliable for years. Lumumba said Jackson’s water system is plagued by short staffing and “decades of delayed maintenance.” He said the inflow of water from the torrential rain changed the chemical composition needed for the treatment, which slowed the process of pushing water to customers. Even before the service outage, the city’s 150,000 residents were boiling their drinking water last month because officials said it could cause digestive problems. Brown said Wednesday he had stopped at the grocery store to buy four cases of water before picking up the ice. As a resident of Jackson, he said people there have lived without access to stable water for years — even when there is pressure, residents often have to boil it for drinking and cooking. In the last two years, people have completely lost the pressure. A cold snap in 2021 left tens of thousands of people without running water after pipes froze. Similar problems occurred again earlier this year, on a smaller scale. “It will be done right one day,” he said. “When, I have no idea.” Like many cities, Jackson has problems with its water system that it can’t afford to fix. Its tax base has eroded in recent decades as the population has declined — a result of the predominantly white exodus to the suburbs that began after public school integration in 1970. The city’s population is now more than 80% Black, with about 25% of residents of living in poverty. Lumumba said Tuesday that repairing Jackson’s water system could run “probably into the billions of dollars.” Mississippi is getting $75 million to address water problems as part of a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Jackson is receiving about $31 million through EPA revolving loan funds for treatment and distribution system improvements. During a press conference Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the EPA is sending personnel to Jackson for an emergency assessment of the treatment plants and to streamline the delivery of repair equipment. FEMA has staff at the emergency operations center and is coordinating with the emergency management team to identify needs, he said. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for Jackson’s water system on Tuesday. The state will try to help fix problems by hiring contractors to work on the treatment plant, which has been operating at reduced capacity with backup pumps after the main pumps failed “some time ago,” Reeves said. Bobbie Fairley, who has lived in Jackson all her life, is the owner of Magic Hand’s Hair Design in South Jackson. The 59-year-old said she had to cancel five appointments on Wednesday because she needs high water pressure to wash chemicals out of her hair during treatments. She had to buy water to wash her hair to try and fit in as many dates as she could. When customers don’t come, he loses money, he said. “That’s a big burden,” he said. “I can’t afford it. I can’t stand it at all.” Jackson State University, a historically black university, had to bring in temporary restrooms for students and was awaiting delivery of portable showers Wednesday, President Thomas Hudson said. Hudson said the city’s water issues have been an ongoing challenge for the university as it has worked to attract students to Mississippi’s capital. “It makes it difficult in terms of what we’re trying to do, our core mission, which is education,” he said. “It hasn’t helped.” He said the school is beginning work on a plan for an autonomous water system using some of the federal funding that has been allocated to historically black colleges and universities. Shannon Wilson, whose daughter just started her sophomore year at Jackson State, said her daughter’s dorm has regained some pressure, but the water coming out is brown. Her daughter left to stay with a friend off campus. But Wilson, who lives in St. Louis, can’t help but worry about her. “We feel helpless. Being over 500 miles away from Jackson, I can’t help but worry,” he said.

Goldberg is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues.

AP White House Correspondent Josh Boak contributed to this report.

title: “The Water Crisis In Jackson Is Forcing Residents To Find Alternatives Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-03” author: “Mark Rhodes”

The 73-year-old logger carried bags of ice into his truck at a gas station on his way to work Wednesday after several days without water. “What can I do? I’m just a pawn in a chess game,” he said, on one of his many trips to and from the store. “All I have to do is try to live.” People waited in lines at distribution sites and flooded stores for water to drink, bathe, cook and flush toilets Wednesday in Mississippi’s capital, amid a failure of the city’s water system after long-term worsening flooding. problems at one of the two water treatment plants. President Joe Biden, who earlier in the day approved a state of emergency declaration for the state of Mississippi, called Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba to discuss response efforts, including support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Beyond addressing the immediate crisis, Biden said he wants to provide federal support for the long-term effort to rebuild Jackson’s aging water infrastructure, which has been unreliable for years. Lumumba said Jackson’s water system is plagued by short staffing and “decades of delayed maintenance.” He said the inflow of water from the torrential rain changed the chemical composition needed for the treatment, which slowed the process of pushing water to customers. Even before the service outage, the city’s 150,000 residents were boiling their drinking water last month because officials said it could cause digestive problems. Brown said Wednesday he had stopped at the grocery store to buy four cases of water before picking up the ice. As a resident of Jackson, he said people there have lived without access to stable water for years — even when there is pressure, residents often have to boil it for drinking and cooking. In the last two years, people have completely lost the pressure. A cold snap in 2021 left tens of thousands of people without running water after pipes froze. Similar problems occurred again earlier this year, on a smaller scale. “It will be done right one day,” he said. “When, I have no idea.” Like many cities, Jackson has problems with its water system that it can’t afford to fix. Its tax base has eroded in recent decades as the population has declined — a result of the predominantly white exodus to the suburbs that began after public school integration in 1970. The city’s population is now more than 80% Black, with about 25% of residents of living in poverty. Lumumba said Tuesday that repairing Jackson’s water system could run “probably into the billions of dollars.” Mississippi is getting $75 million to address water problems as part of a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Jackson is receiving about $31 million through EPA revolving loan funds for treatment and distribution system improvements. During a press conference Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the EPA is sending personnel to Jackson for an emergency assessment of the treatment plants and to streamline the delivery of repair equipment. FEMA has staff at the emergency operations center and is coordinating with the emergency management team to identify needs, he said. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for Jackson’s water system on Tuesday. The state will try to help fix problems by hiring contractors to work on the treatment plant, which has been operating at reduced capacity with backup pumps after the main pumps failed “some time ago,” Reeves said. Bobbie Fairley, who has lived in Jackson all her life, is the owner of Magic Hand’s Hair Design in South Jackson. The 59-year-old said she had to cancel five appointments on Wednesday because she needs high water pressure to wash chemicals out of her hair during treatments. She had to buy water to wash her hair to try and fit in as many dates as she could. When customers don’t come, he loses money, he said. “That’s a big burden,” he said. “I can’t afford it. I can’t stand it at all.” Jackson State University, a historically black university, had to bring in temporary restrooms for students and was awaiting delivery of portable showers Wednesday, President Thomas Hudson said. Hudson said the city’s water issues have been an ongoing challenge for the university as it has worked to attract students to Mississippi’s capital. “It makes it difficult in terms of what we’re trying to do, our core mission, which is education,” he said. “It hasn’t helped.” He said the school is beginning work on a plan for an autonomous water system using some of the federal funding that has been allocated to historically black colleges and universities. Shannon Wilson, whose daughter just started her sophomore year at Jackson State, said her daughter’s dorm has regained some pressure, but the water coming out is brown. Her daughter left to stay with a friend off campus. But Wilson, who lives in St. Louis, can’t help but worry about her. “We feel helpless. Being over 500 miles away from Jackson, I can’t help but worry,” he said.

Goldberg is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues.

AP White House Correspondent Josh Boak contributed to this report.

title: “The Water Crisis In Jackson Is Forcing Residents To Find Alternatives Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-02” author: “Marc Moore”

The 73-year-old logger carried bags of ice into his truck at a gas station on his way to work Wednesday after several days without water. “What can I do? I’m just a pawn in a chess game,” he said, on one of his many trips to and from the store. “All I have to do is try to live.” People waited in lines at distribution sites and flooded stores for water to drink, bathe, cook and flush toilets Wednesday in Mississippi’s capital, amid a failure of the city’s water system after long-term worsening flooding. problems at one of the two water treatment plants. President Joe Biden, who earlier in the day approved a state of emergency declaration for the state of Mississippi, called Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba to discuss response efforts, including support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. Beyond addressing the immediate crisis, Biden said he wants to provide federal support for the long-term effort to rebuild Jackson’s aging water infrastructure, which has been unreliable for years. Lumumba said Jackson’s water system is plagued by short staffing and “decades of delayed maintenance.” He said the inflow of water from the torrential rain changed the chemical composition needed for the treatment, which slowed the process of pushing water to customers. Even before the service outage, the city’s 150,000 residents were boiling their drinking water last month because officials said it could cause digestive problems. Brown said Wednesday he had stopped at the grocery store to buy four cases of water before picking up the ice. As a resident of Jackson, he said people there have lived without access to stable water for years — even when there is pressure, residents often have to boil it for drinking and cooking. In the last two years, people have completely lost the pressure. A cold snap in 2021 left tens of thousands of people without running water after pipes froze. Similar problems occurred again earlier this year, on a smaller scale. “It will be done right one day,” he said. “When, I have no idea.” Like many cities, Jackson has problems with its water system that it can’t afford to fix. Its tax base has eroded in recent decades as the population has declined — a result of the predominantly white exodus to the suburbs that began after public school integration in 1970. The city’s population is now more than 80% Black, with about 25% of residents of living in poverty. Lumumba said Tuesday that repairing Jackson’s water system could run “probably into the billions of dollars.” Mississippi is getting $75 million to address water problems as part of a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Jackson is receiving about $31 million through EPA revolving loan funds for treatment and distribution system improvements. During a press conference Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the EPA is sending personnel to Jackson for an emergency assessment of the treatment plants and to streamline the delivery of repair equipment. FEMA has staff at the emergency operations center and is coordinating with the emergency management team to identify needs, he said. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for Jackson’s water system on Tuesday. The state will try to help fix problems by hiring contractors to work on the treatment plant, which has been operating at reduced capacity with backup pumps after the main pumps failed “some time ago,” Reeves said. Bobbie Fairley, who has lived in Jackson all her life, is the owner of Magic Hand’s Hair Design in South Jackson. The 59-year-old said she had to cancel five appointments on Wednesday because she needs high water pressure to wash chemicals out of her hair during treatments. She had to buy water to wash her hair to try and fit in as many dates as she could. When customers don’t come, he loses money, he said. “That’s a big burden,” he said. “I can’t afford it. I can’t stand it at all.” Jackson State University, a historically black university, had to bring in temporary restrooms for students and was awaiting delivery of portable showers Wednesday, President Thomas Hudson said. Hudson said the city’s water issues have been an ongoing challenge for the university as it has worked to attract students to Mississippi’s capital. “It makes it difficult in terms of what we’re trying to do, our core mission, which is education,” he said. “It hasn’t helped.” He said the school is beginning work on a plan for an autonomous water system using some of the federal funding that has been allocated to historically black colleges and universities. Shannon Wilson, whose daughter just started her sophomore year at Jackson State, said her daughter’s dorm has regained some pressure, but the water coming out is brown. Her daughter left to stay with a friend off campus. But Wilson, who lives in St. Louis, can’t help but worry about her. “We feel helpless. Being over 500 miles away from Jackson, I can’t help but worry,” he said.

Goldberg is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues.

AP White House Correspondent Josh Boak contributed to this report.