JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s capital city is grappling with multiple water problems — too much on the ground after heavy rainfall in the past week, and not enough safe water coming through the pipes for people to use.
Parts of Jackson were without running water Tuesday because flooding exacerbated longstanding problems in one of two water-treatment plants. The city of 150,000 had already been under a boil-water notice for a month because the Health Department found cloudy water that could cause digestive problems.
Restaurant owner Derek Emerson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that water problems “are making it impossible for us to do business in Jackson, Mississippi.” Emerson and his wife, Jennifer, own the upscale Walker’s Drive-In, and he said they have been spending $300 a day for ice and bottled water in the past month.
“I love doing business in Jackson, and I like the people of Jackson,” Emerson said. “I just — I hate dealing with the problems.”
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said late Monday that he’s declaring a state of emergency for Jackson’s water system, and he issued the proclamation Tuesday. The state will try to help resolve problems by hiring contractors to work at the treatment plant, which was operating at diminished capacity with backup pumps after the main pumps failed “some time ago,” Reeves said.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said Jackson’s water system is troubled by short staffing and “decades of deferred maintenance.” He said the influx of water from torrential rain changed the chemical composition needed for treatment, which slowed the process of pushing water out to customers.
Lumumba is Democrat and was not invited to the Republican governor’s Monday night news conference.
Although the two politicians are often at odds, Lumumba said Tuesday that he’s having productive discussions with the Health Department and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and he’s grateful for the state’s help.
Like many cities, Jackson faces water system problems it can’t afford to fix. Its tax base has eroded the past few decades as the population decreased — the result of mostly white flight to suburbs that began after public schools integrated in 1970.