Famed Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.”
No doubt officials and the citizenry of Jackson, Miss. will agree that such a statement is applicable to the water crisis in the city. Since last week, Jackson suffered numerous water main breaks following an arctic blast that hit Mississippi – causing thousands of residents to be without safe, consumable water.
As Dr. King’s aforementioned quote indicates that solutions often bring about other problems. Comparatively, the lack of usable water has put Jackson area citizens on a boil water alert, closed down major county, state and federal office buildings, canceled schools, caused businesses to lose daily revenue, relocated and/or released juvenile offenders, and the list goes on. Jackson State University also had to cancel its Martin Luther King celebrations featuring former Ambassador Andrew Young.
Despite the problems that have spun from the breaks, city workers have been working 12-hour shifts to make repairs.
In an 11 a.m. press conference Wednesday, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. gave an update on the situation. “As of this morning, we had a total of 123 water line breaks that had been reported since last week and 36 water breaks are still outstanding. We had 16 more breaks reported last night,” he said.
On a positive note, the mayor reported that the Fewell Water Plant was back in action. “We are currently pumping water out of Fewell at 44 psi. That is up from 33 psi, and we hope to get to full capacity at 65 psi over the next day or so,” Johnson stated.
Even after the repairs, it is estimated to take at least two days before tests will reveal whether the water is safe to drink, health officials said.
The boil-water alert remains in effect for Jackson and Byram residents and businesses. Some homes have been without water for about a week. However on Wednesday, Johnson said some residents have called and reported that they do have water now. “We are spot checking tanks every four hours to make sure that pressure is building in the system,” he said.
To ensure safety, residents must bring the water they use for cooking or drinking to a boil for a minute. They must also boil water to brush their teeth. To help in the matter, residents are also asked to reserve water.
Jackson Public Schools were closed again Wednesday. Hinds County government offices and state offices in Jackson were also closed Wednesday, officials said. “We will notify parents on a daily basis regarding the schools,” said a JPS communication official.
In the midst of the crisis, Jackson has received some repair help from other cities and entities nearby and around the state.
“We would like to express our appreciation for the following municipalities and agencies who are assisting us in repairing the remaining water line breaks: Hattiesburg, Madison, Ridgeland, Richland, Flowood, Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), Canton Municipal Utilities, and Greenville,” he said. “This adds an additional eight crews on the streets right now.”
He is also appreciative to Mississippi Emergency Manage-ment Agency (MEMA), the city of Pearl and the Delta Division of Kroger for their assistance in providing water for Jacksonians. As of Wednesday morning, they have provided approximately 22,000 bottles of water and another 4,000 gallon bottles of water to citizens.
Volunteers were on hand from the Jackson Fire Department, Police Department and the Red Cross to issue the water to citizens during the drive-through-for-pick-up distribution at the old Dillard’s parking lot in the Metrocenter Mall. Traffic was backed up from the Mall on Highway 80 to Lynch Street.
One volunteer trying to add a little humor to the situation made the comment, “You don’t miss your water until its pressure runs low.”
The mayor announced on WMPR Radio Wednesday night that more water distributions will be made.
The county board of supervisors also pledged their assistance to the city. They announced Tuesday afternoon, the relocation and release of a total of 35 juvenile offenders, due to the water crisis, which would have caused sanitation and other issues at the Jackson Henley-Young Juvenile Detention Center. “Relocating and releasing juvenile offenders was not a decision that we favored,” said Board of Supervisors President Robert Graham, who assured citizens’ safety, because violent offenders were relocated to other jurisdictions. Only the non-violent offenders were released.
Residents appear to be coping with the crisis. “We are appreciative to the citizens of Hinds County for their patience. They are to be commended,” said Hinds County Supervisor Peggy Calhoun during the news conference.
Dr. King also once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
The city of Jackson is standing by its citizenry in the midst of this water crisis.
City workers have been dubbed ‘hard-working’ everyday heroes.
Dominique Grant also contributed to this article.
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