Mississippi’s capital left with little to no drinking water as systems fail

Jackson, Mississippi, lacks enough water pressure to fight fires, flush toilets and meet other critical needs because its main water treatment facility began failing, the governor said. Officials blame longstanding water system problems and river flooding for the city's water woes.
#CNN #News

65 comments

    1. FLINT.

      V💙TE THE GOP OUT OF OUR WAY! We cannot move forward until we move the GOP out of our country’s way!

    1. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17

      “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:38-39

    1. The Governor runs the State. The Mayor “runs” the City. This is his job. The Governor had to step in to fix LaBamba’s incomitance .

    2. @wcoasttigger2012, I was just having this convo with my parents who are visiting me down here in Ft. Lauderdale. This was a huge issue here during the last mayoral election. The aging infrastructure couldn’t handle the influx of people and sewage pipes were busting what seemed like almost weekly occasion 3 years ago.

    3. @Marc Allen The city asked for $47 million to get ahead of the crisis with water and sewer repairs after the 2021 storm. The state’s legislature gave Jackson only $3 million,

  1. Too bad the governor never supported infrastructure bills, and now he’s complaining when systems fail. He’s like those homeowners that never should’ve owned a home, he’s a governor that’s completely wrong for Mississippi.

    1. @Philip because him and every republican voted against the infrastructure bill just because they want to reallocate those funds to corporations that then donate to them.

    2. @Kevin Gotti are you talking about the huge one in Congress? Why should the feds be managing a cities water supply?

      This seems like city mismanagement. Notice how it’s only affecting one city.

      Cities bring in money from tax revenue and funding sources, they can manage their own water supply.

      Unless someone has information to counter – does the Mississippi constitution put water management on the state level as I haven’t found any evidence of it in my search so far.

    3. @wcoasttigger2012 not true. Money comes from your county appraiser. Notice how you pay property taxes, usage taxes (water bills), and sales taxes in many places. That’s all county/city revenue

    4. @Crispin Fornoff – This is a man-made disaster. It didn’t need to happen, and wouldn’t have happened if the system were maintained properly.

  2. There are no excuses for not maintaining the water systems. Why do all utility and power companies get to charge us extra fees when they don’t even keep up with basic required maintenance?! There should be special task forces that answer to the public that go around to check on all of the facilities to make sure it is being done.

    1. ​@Derick Mckey Well, I don’t work for any utility. company. I live in NYx3. When it comes to big project there is a lot of experience.

    2. @sammyshott23 Israel gives us innovation and science. I geuss your rebuttal would be Ukraine gives us ….. 😐 umnnnnnn nothing???

    3. Sounds like someone needs to bring a lawsuit. That’s exactly what every utility company claims those fees are for.

  3. What a time to be alive already in the past 8 months we’ve seen heavy flooding, severe storms, worst droughts and heatwaves on record, dams all over drying up at the same time and so on…. In just 8 months now this

    1. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17

      “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:38-39

  4. Ignore all infrastructure problems, invent silly problems and mess with the electoral system. This is what you get. Sad.

    1. @Joe Penders
      Then where is Joe Blow? Someone needs to do something, step in and make it right. No matter who is in charge. This isn’t a political chess game, this is our lives. (I did some digging on water delivery and the agencies responsible for moving it, not good friend. Not good at all.)

  5. That may happen when you never invest in infrastructure and update/service it adequately. I’m not going to claim this is definitely the case here, but it’s no secret that infrastructure in the US is more often than not crumbling…

    1. this is what happens when infrastructure budgets are instead used for other things like diversity and equality.

  6. Amazing, almost like constantly cutting infrastructure in budgets cuts as “trimming the fat” leaves a system that is basically held together by duct tape and hope.

    1. This exact same thing happened in Flint, Michigan. Now, what is the common trait about the people that live in Flint and in Jackson? Nah, it couldn’t be that the republican governor of each state did some quick math and determined that pissing off black, democratic voters, who weren’t going to vote for him anyway was a smart move? No siree Bob! This is just coincidence, I tell you! 😂

    2. The city received 75 million in federal funds for water supply uptates. Why did she not ask where the money went?

    3. @MC Transportation it was granted to the state not the city. it was recommended by epa to be spent on the city however. don’t know how it was spent

  7. You can tell this Mayor is holding in his anger at the failure of the state to handle maintenance of infrastructure.

  8. These things don’t happen in a month or two, it’s Years in the making. Worked as a treatment plant operator for five + years. With two different cities. Never had a fully operational plant EVER!!!!

    1. @NBA1 Please let me know why you think my personal experience deserves a commitment like this? Would be happy to have a debate with you.

  9. Imagine trying to fix a rusted out pumps at the water treatment center while surrounded by contaminated flood waters. It will be extremely difficult!

  10. This is just a sign of worse things to come if people don’t take climate change and aging infrastructure seriously. I feel very badly for the people of Jackson, Mississippi.

  11. God bless the Mayor for not absolutely LOSING IT over the Governor’s disrespect towards him. Kudos for being poised and professional and not furthering the stupidity. To sit there and keep it focused on the problem and the citizens while enduring such a snub is commendable and a great example of a real leader. The Governor had NO REASON to throw out that line that the Mayor wasn’t invited. He could’ve kept it professional and about the needs of the citizens. Whatever the reason for the failing infrastructure, even its partly the Mayor’s fault, (Which I don’t know if that’s true) no progress can be gained being snotty about it. Bad look for the Governor…Mayor takes the W

    1. @Christopher Stuart Definitely! Allowing creators to retain that which they made possible is the obviously prudent policy.

  12. “Many provisions in this sprawling legislation have merit and would help Mississippi, but voting for it is a bridge too far to cross. We need more infrastructure investment, but I am unconvinced this rushed massive, one-shot bill is the best or most fiscally-responsible way to fix roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems, and the electrical grid.”

    “Let’s not forget that President Biden and congressional Democrats will use the thin veneer of bipartisan support for infrastructure as a gateway to a new scheme to spend another $4 trillion on a tax-and-spend extravaganza of socialist programs—all without a single Republican vote.”

    -Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-senator.

    Whoops.

  13. Hats off to the mayor for “keeping it classy”, choosing not to disparage the govr, even when prodded by the reporter. This is what true leadership looks like. I wish the best for Mississippians.

  14. I have a lot of respect for the mayor’s “point fingers later, get things done now” attitude. I just hope this doesn’t somehow end up hurting him later, in the “no good deed goes unpunished” sense, because there will be no shortage of people prepared to pick apart everything he does.

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