Jackson, Mississippi situation is reminiscent of Flint, Michigan as residents have gone a week without drinking water

Days of major flooding disrupted the operation of a critical but ageing water treatment plant in Jackson, Mississippi

Many compared the situation to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan from 2014 to 2016. That city’s water supply was dangerously contaminated with lead

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A volunteer drinks water during a break at a water distribution site as the city of Jackson is to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely after the water treatment plant pumps failed, leading to the emergency distribution of bottled water and tanker trucks for 180,000 people, in Jackson, Mississippi. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:55am, 4 Sep 2022Updated: 3:48pm, 4 Sep 2022

With an increasingly crisis leaving many residents of Mississippi’s capital without drinkable water, soldiers in fatigues have been called in to help, using forklifts and diggers to unload huge pallets of bottled water for distribution to those in dire need.

The city of Jackson, where 80 per cent of the population is Black and poverty is rife, has experienced water crises for years. But this one is particularly severe, with many residents lacking clean running water for nearly a week.

Days of major flooding disrupted the operation of a critical but ageing water treatment plant.

So when residents turn on the tap, brown water – undrinkable, even if boiled – sometimes sputters out, under very low pressure.

A local resident sits outside her house as the city of Jackson is to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely. Photo: Reuters

“At my home the water is running very slowly. It’s a horrible situation in the entire city,” said Jackson resident Mary Jones, 55.