Broken pipes left thousands of residents of Jackson, Mississippi, without running water Monday after a winter storm as the city struggled to return pressure to its frail water system.
In a statement issued Monday, Jackson officials stated that there were “significant leaks in the system that we have yet to identify.” The city’s mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, blamed “dramatic temperatures,” which dropped to 11 degrees on Thursday, and said crews were working with the Environmental Protection Agency to restore pressure.
On Sunday, the city issued a boil water notice, instructing residents to turn off faucets and inspect businesses and churches for leaks and broken pipes.
“There’s no water pressure for most residents in Jackson, again,” state Rep. Ronnie Crudup said Monday. “During this holiday season, it’s a different struggle because people have family, guests and everything else for Christmas, and there is no water.”
Crudup stated that his house does not have running water and that his family is unable to flush toilets or take showers.
It is the latest setback for Jackson’s beleaguered water system, which experienced a days-long outage earlier this summer and has previously failed during cold weather.
Over the weekend and on Monday, the city set up water distribution points throughout Jackson. Officials asked residents not to report pressure loss because the city is “well aware of the system pressure issues.”
Emon Thompson, 54, and his wife were disappointed to have to cancel on Christmas guests who were supposed to visit. He claims to be one of the only people in his neighborhood with running water, but it’s only a small amount that isn’t drinkable due to the city’s boil water notice.
“If you let it, it becomes depressing, especially during the holiday season,” said Thompson, who has lived in Jackson for 33 years. “I’m trying to keep my head up and just doing a lot of cleaning and other things.”
Thompson stated that he and his wife had to leave church early on Christmas because the restrooms were not operational due to the water outage.
“It’s been a difficult situation,” he admitted.
Several other cities are experiencing similar water problems as freezing temperatures hit large swaths of the country.
Cold temperatures have exacerbated Jackson’s water crisis. Extreme cold temperatures caused pipes to freeze in early 2021, leaving residents without running water.
Following the flooding of the Pearl River, the city lost running water this year due to problems at the city’s main water treatment facility, the O.B. Curtis Water Plant.
Because of health concerns, the outage was preceded and followed by a boil water advisory.
In November, the federal government intervened, and the Biden administration appointed a manager to improve the water system’s near-term stability. One of the top priorities was a winterization project to make the system more resistant to extreme weather.
“It’s just a frustrating, difficult situation that we’re having to go through again and again,” Crudup added.
