Water Crisis in Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson, MS Skyline with flooding Pearl River in the foreground in August 2022 | Photo from Shutterstock

In the Beginning of September, Jackson Mississippi was hit with heavy rainfall which caused the Pearl River to flood. A major water pump at Jackson’s main water treatment facility was damaged by the flood. This came after a 30 day “boil water” advisory which was put in effect for over 180,000 residents has become common occurrence. The failure of this pump led to citizens of Jackson to be left with the choice of either buying bottled water or drinking their contaminated tap water. For many residents the tap water coming out appeared brown and had a smell of sewage. One mother named Carey Wooten, who was interviewed by PBS for an article about this crisis stated, “the water that’s coming out of my kitchen sink smells like fresh sewage… As soon as you turn it on, it hits you right in the face. It’s horrible”. On September 15 the boil water advisory had been lifted but the concerns of citizens about the quality of the water still continued. According to an article by NPR there are still concerns about the safety of the drinking water as there is potential chlorine and lead contamination in the water. The Health Department is still urging pregnant women and children to drink bottled or filtered water. The administrator of the EPA Micheal Reagan states that issues of access to clean water in the city of Jackson is a “Longstanding Injustice”. There has been not only a lack of funds but also mismanagement of funds which have not made it to the communities that need it 

At first glance this water crisis may seem like a mishap where a system fails and needs to be fixed, but when looking at the demographics and history in Jackson it becomes apparent that this is a bigger issue than that. Similarly to what happened in Flint, Michigan, an overwhelming majority of the people who are forced to deal with a lack of potable water are Black and lower income individuals. According to the 2020 Census, 82% of the population in Jackson is Black and just over 24% of the city lives in poverty. Furthermore, The US Department of justice cites 300 boil water advisories in Jackson over the last two years just proving that this has been a long standing issue of environmental racism that finally had its breaking point. 

There have been efforts made to make clean and bottled water available to residents of Jackson, but this comes with limitations. There are places where people can go pick up water but this requires a car, and paying for the extra gas to go out of one's way to get water. A lack of tap water means heating water up on the stove which increases energy bills. And, on top of this, residents are still paying their monthly water bill for water that isn't potable or running. This is a clear violation of human rights as the right to clean drinking water is a universal right. Furthermore the lack of clean drinking water is a clear violation of the values that we claim to hold in the United States and even fits into the definition of Environmental injustice, as there is not equal access based on one's race. Local Authorities are claiming that there have been violations of the Clean Drinking Water Act and the NAACP is bringing a civil rights act claim to the courts. The next step for Mississippi is figuring out how to not only fix their water infrastructure but fixing their issues of unequal funding within their system. 

If you would like to watch more about this topic A video about thee water crisis showing a video of what type of water quality they were dealing with is liked here

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/01/1126121420/jackson-miss-residents-struggle-with-basic-needs-as-the-water-crisis-disrupts-li

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/decades-of-systemic-racism-seen-as-root-of-jackson-mississippi-water-crisis

https://www.americanrivers.org/2022/09/climate-and-environmental-injustice-thousands-without-water-in-jackson-mississippi/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-fmZBhDtARIsAH6H8qgi-a3hjEb1PyKRHAYDK1GWTN_UjY5ZKvNKvgP_V0NOI0fORbE8T6waAhCdEALw_wcB

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/jacksoncitymississippi/BZA115220