'It's Like Nobody Cares': After Two Weeks Without Running Water, Jackson, Miss. Pleads for Help
It's been two weeks and I know families with infants who don't have water. The city needs help. I'm thankful my water is trickling out enough to flush my toilet but dang. This just needs to be fixed at this point. It just needs to be fixed."
That's what Jamario Townsend, a resident of Jackson, Mississippi, recently posted on the city's Facebook page, according to reporting by The Daily Beast. Tens of thousands of people in Jackson have lacked reliable access to running water for roughly two weeks and remain under a boil-water alert since a pair of mid-February winter storms damaged the capital city's outdated water system, prompting renewed calls for major investments in upgrading infrastructure.
As The Washington Post reported Monday night:
On Feb. 15, residents across Mississippi woke up to a blanket of ice, uncommon in this part of the South. The ice trapped many residents in their homes and rendered roads impassable. Days later, another winter storm made its way through the state, leaving residents in central Mississippi without power and ultimately resulting in six deaths.
While power was eventually restored, the city of Jackson soon faced another problem: lack of running water. On Feb. 17, the system lost power, and officials immediately issued a boil-water notice to 43,000 connections, including households and businesses.
Grocery store shelves had already been picked bare thanks to the ice storm, and bottled water was scarce. Local organizations stepped up to deliver cases of bottled water to those in need.
Two weeks later, many residents still don't have water. Officials say it's impossible to know how many homes are completely without water, as some may have a trickle coming out of their pipes. But Jackson Public Works Director Charles Williams said Monday morning that the current pressure was at 37 pounds per square inch—it's normally between 85 and 90.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/02/its-nobody-cares-after-two-weeks-without-running-water-jackson-miss-pleads-help
