Newshub18:Water crisis in the city of Jackson, USA.
About 180,000 people in the city of Jackson, Mississippi, are suffering from severe water shortages. Such a situation has arisen after floods caused by heavy rains.
There is a shortage of drinking water and water for daily use in the city. Local authorities said that there is a lack of water even to extinguish the fire.
According to a BBC report, rising floodwaters entered the city’s main water treatment plant late last week. As a result the whole process is destroyed. A state of emergency has been declared in the state to deal with the crisis. At the same time, educational institutions, restaurants and businesses are temporarily closed.
The problem began at the state’s O. B. Curtis water plant, when heavy rains caused the Pearl River to overflow onto city streets. City Hall in Mississippi confirmed last Monday that the city’s main water treatment plant treats more than 50 million gallons, or 190 million liters, of water per day.
Both the city of Jackson and the state are distributing bottled water to city residents as well as water for toilets via tanker trucks. The Mississippi National Guard is assisting in the effort.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said Tuesday afternoon local time that the condition of the plant is “very critical.” This will not stop water supply. But officials need more time to treat the water. He blamed the system’s failure on staff shortages. He said, “It was not a question of whether our system would fail, but a question of when.”
The White House said it was “closely monitoring” the crisis and was in “regular contact” with LumumbaMississippi Governor Tate Reeves said during an emergency briefing Monday night that the city would be without “purified water” indefinitely because the plant’s main motor and backup pumps also failed.
This means the city cannot produce water to fight fires, the governor said. Not even enough water can be produced to flush toilets and meet other vital needs.
The concerned establishments increased the production in the second way. They are treating two to three million gallons of water per day. However, water pressure for supply has decreased. All Jackson public schools transitioned to virtual learning Tuesday amid the crisis.
At the same time businesses and restaurants have been forced to buy jugs of ice and water. 80 percent of people in the capital of this southern state of the United States are African Americans