Jackson, Mississippi’s State of Emergency

The 180,000 residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have had no water coming from the tap to drink, brush their teeth, or even flush toilets since Monday, August 29, 2022, and city officials say the situation will go on “indefinitely.”

While it may be shocking that a US state capital is without reliable drinking water, it’s not entirely new for Jackson’s inhabitants. A winter storm in February 2021 shut down the city’s water system, leaving many without water for a month, and they’ve been advised to boil their water since July. The city’s aging water treatment plant has been understaffed for years.

How did we get here?

The immediate cause of Jackson’s predicament is flooding from the nearby Pearl River, which affected a city-run water treatment plant. But the roots of the city’s failing infrastructure go back much further and mirror those of other majority minority US cities. Water systems that consistently violate federal drinking water laws are 40% more likely to be located in areas with more residents of color, according to a 2019 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Jackson is more than 80% Black.

The city also lacks a strong tax base to fund repairs and maintenance for the plant. The Jackson metro area increased jobs by a measly 6.6% between 2009 and 2019. At the same time, median wages there dropped by 7.6%, the largest decline of all large US metro areas, per the Brookings Institute.

So what now? Mississippi’s governor declared a state of emergency and the National Guard will help distribute water while the plant is repaired.

Mayor Lumumba has estimated that modernizing the city’s infrastructure could cost as much as $2 billion. Mississippi received $75 million from the federal infrastructure bill signed by President Biden last year for water and sewage needs, but that money is for the entire state, not Jackson alone.

I can’t imagine living in the Jackson, Mississippi area right now. 100° weather and no access to water. Standing in line for bottled water to make formula, brush your teeth. No showering, limited, if any, flushing toilets. What if your home or business catches fire?

This is an infrastructure nightmare. Although this is making national news right now, it’s not new to the people living there. White flight has left the area 89% black in a horribly racist state. Those who have been left behind are SUFFERING. This is the result of longstanding racism in a republican state.