The City of Jackson has approved an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to address the city’s ongoing water crisis, providing a legal framework to address its violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act and stabilize its water system after two consecutive years of ongoing disruptions.
The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking an enforceable agreement with the City of Jackson to address multiple violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, many resulting from long-standing deficiencies at O.B. Curtis, Jackson’s primary water treatment plant.
Congressman Bennie Thompson is seeking up to $200 million in direct federal funding for the City of Jackson to address its beleaguered water system, potentially bypassing the State of Mississippi entirely.
For the first time in recent memory, virtually all stakeholders in the future of Mississippi’s capital city came together Wednesday to discuss the Jackson water crisis that has left more than 160,000 residents without clean water for over a month.
Only days before the effective collapse of Jackson’s water system, the Environmental Protection Agency highlighted a critical failure on the part of the capital city’s leaders in pursuing new water operations staff and in implementing an alternative water plan.
Jackson’s water system is failing and all water across the city is entirely unsafe to drink, officials said at an emergency briefing Monday night. State leadership have warned all residents of Mississippi’s capital city to boil water before drinking or even brushing their teeth.
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