Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill
Water crisis continues in Mississippi, weeks after cold snap
Mississippi’s largest city is still struggling with water problems more than two weeks after winter storms and freezing weather ravaged the system in Jackson, knocking out water for drinking and making it impossible for many to even flush their toilets.
Residents in the city of 160,000 are still being warned to boil any water that does come out of the faucets.
“I pray it comes back on,” Jackson resident Nita Smith said. “I’m not sure how much more of this we can take.”
Smith has had no water at home for nearly three weeks.
Smith is concerned about her mother who has diabetes. Her mother and most of the other older people on her street don’t drive, so Smith has been helping them get water to clean themselves and flush their toilets.
A key focus of city crews is filling the system’s water tanks to an optimal level. But, public works director Charles Williams said Wednesday that fish, tree limbs and other debris have clogged screens where water moves from a reservoir into a treatment plant. That caused pressure to drop for the entire water system.
“Today was not a good day for us,” Williams said.
He said about a fourth of Jackson’s customers remained without running water. That is more than 10,000 connections, with most serving multiple people.
City officials on Wednesday continued distributing water for flushing toilets at several pick-up points. But they’re giving no specific timeline for resolving problems. Workers continue to fix dozens of water main breaks and leaks.
The crisis has taken a toll on businesses. Jeff Good is co-owner of three Jackson restaurants, and two of them remained closed Wednesday. In a Facebook update, Good said the businesses have insurance, but he’s concerned about his employees.
“We will not be financially ruined,” Good wrote. “The spirits of our team members are my biggest concern. A true malaise and depression is setting in.”
Mississippi’s capital city is not alone in water problems. More than two weeks have passed since the cold wave shut down the main power grid in Texas, leaving millions in freezing homes, causing about 50 deaths and disabling thousands of public water systems serving those millions.
Water crisis continues in Mississippi, weeks after cold snap
Mississippi’s largest city is still struggling with water problems more than two weeks after winter storms and freezing weather ravaged the system in Jackson, knocking out water for drinking and making it impossible for many to even flush their toilets.
Residents in the city of 160,000 are still being warned to boil any water that does come out of the faucets.
“I pray it comes back on,” Jackson resident Nita Smith said. “I’m not sure how much more of this we can take.”
Smith has had no water at home for nearly three weeks.
Smith is concerned about her mother who has diabetes. Her mother and most of the other older people on her street don’t drive, so Smith has been helping them get water to clean themselves and flush their toilets.
A key focus of city crews is filling the system’s water tanks to an optimal level. But, public works director Charles Williams said Wednesday that fish, tree limbs and other debris have clogged screens where water moves from a reservoir into a treatment plant. That caused pressure to drop for the entire water system.
“Today was not a good day for us,” Williams said.
He said about a fourth of Jackson’s customers remained without running water. That is more than 10,000 connections, with most serving multiple people.
City officials on Wednesday continued distributing water for flushing toilets at several pick-up points. But they’re giving no specific timeline for resolving problems. Workers continue to fix dozens of water main breaks and leaks.
The crisis has taken a toll on businesses. Jeff Good is co-owner of three Jackson restaurants, and two of them remained closed Wednesday. In a Facebook update, Good said the businesses have insurance, but he’s concerned about his employees.
“We will not be financially ruined,” Good wrote. “The spirits of our team members are my biggest concern. A true malaise and depression is setting in.”
Mississippi’s capital city is not alone in water problems. More than two weeks have passed since the cold wave shut down the main power grid in Texas, leaving millions in freezing homes, causing about 50 deaths and disabling thousands of public water systems serving those millions.
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