Mississippi, Sept. 1 (BNA): US President Joe Biden has pledged aid to Jackson’s Mississippi state, as the state capital suffered its third day without drinking water after a long-stalled water treatment plant failed.
The promise from Washington came as frustrated people in Jackson waited in long lines in sweltering heat at distribution sites as volunteers handed out cases of bottled water.
Complications from recent floodwaters caused the OB Curtis water treatment plant to stop operating Monday night, with little reliable estimate of when service could be restored.
Reuters reported that water pressure remained low or no, with some pipes carrying water that was not fully treated.
Officials warned all 150,000 people in Jackson and another 30,000 in nearby communities not to drink tap water without boiling it first.
Hundreds of cars swerved outside an Salvation Army-managed water distribution site, with men and women loading water boxes and back seats with water containers.
Others searched for water in stores where supplies ran out or ran out.
Kendra Payne, a mother of two, said after she bought dozens of crates of water at Walmart.
Several businesses have closed while local schools and Jackson State University, a historically black college, have resorted to online classes.
But Washington promised that help was on the way.
The Biden administration approved the emergency declaration late Tuesday to free up federal aid, and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said at a news conference that he spoke separately with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said millions of federal dollars are already available for city and state water projects, while FEMA and the Environmental Protection Agency have been dispatched to Jackson.
Jean-Pierre said the US bailout, approved at the start of Biden’s presidency last year, provides $450 million for water modernization across Mississippi, with the city of Jackson allocating $20 million for water infrastructure.
Additionally, EPA loans were available, and a Pearl River flood control study was being conducted.
Even before the crisis, the city had been under the notice of boiling water for the past month due to “high turbidity levels”, making the water appear cloudy.
This followed a series of disruptions to the city’s water supply in recent years due to high levels of lead, bacterial contamination and storm damage.
“Jackson has a water crisis and we don’t trust the quality of water we get until we shower,” said Cassandra Welchlin, 49, a social worker.
She said her family of five was fortunate that her sister’s place outside the city was available for safe bathing.
ZHB