Due to rain and floods, the Pearl River in Jackson, Mississippi, reached unsafe levels on Monday, leaving the state’s capital city without a dependable water supply, according to officials.
Due to problems caused by the Pearl River flooding, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba declared a water system emergency on Monday evening. According to him, many residents had low or nonexistent water pressure as a result of problems at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant.
Before the rain that raised concerns about floods from the Pearl River, Jackson, the state’s capital and largest city, had water issues.
Since last month, the city has been under a boil-water advisory because testing revealed that the water that the city provides had a hazy condition that could obstruct the disinfection process and cause illness.
In 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency published a comprehensive report describing Jackson’s water system’s significant flaws, including the failure to replace lead pipes, defective monitoring technology, and insufficient staffing.
Even the most fundamental services, like the drinking fountains at Whitten Middle School, have been impacted by the absence of dependable water in the neighbourhood.
The city’s water system is unable to produce enough water, according to Gov. Tate Reeves, who stated this at a news conference on Monday night.
According to officials, flooding in Jackson, a city of around 153,000 people, was not as bad as initially anticipated despite the state seeing record rains.
The Pearl River was expected to stay at a little over 35 feet but start a gradual decline Monday night, according to the National Weather Service.
