杰克逊市长乔克韦·安塔尔·卢蒙巴(Chokwe Antar Lumumba)在周二的新闻发布会上表示，人员短缺、系统问题和多种设备故障导致了密西西比州杰克逊市居民无限期失去自来水的危机。
卢蒙巴认为这个城市的水危机过去几十年缺乏维护，并补充说要解决这个问题将花费数十亿美元。
“这是一系列累积的问题，其基础是几十年来没有发生的延期维护，”Lumumba说。
卢蒙巴估计，修复供水系统至少需要10亿美元，解决整个问题还需要数十亿美元。
卢蒙巴说:“杰克逊的居民值得拥有一个可靠的系统，我们期待着一个愿意加入我们的联盟，共同努力改善这个已经失败了几十年的系统。”
官员称，本周主要水处理厂的水泵出现故障后，杰克逊至少有180，000人将无限期地失去可靠的饮用水。
密西西比州州长泰特·里维斯(Tate Reeves)在周一晚上的新闻发布会上说，杰克逊O.B .柯蒂斯水处理厂的一个主要水泵受损，迫使该市使用备用水泵。
里夫斯周二宣布进入紧急状态，并启动了该州的国民警卫队，以帮助官员处理正在进行的水紧急情况。
A firefighter puts cases of bottled water in a resident's SUV at the Fire Station as part of the city's response to longstanding water system problem in Jackson, Miss., Aug. 18, 2022.
Rogelio诉Solis/AP
里夫斯在会上说:“国家正在调集大量资源来保护我们首都的人民。”。
官员们说，在问题解决之前，该州首府的居民不会有可靠的自来水。
里夫斯说，缺水将使杰克逊更难生产足够的水来灭火、冲厕所和满足其他基本需求。
居民们在整个城市的道路和高速公路上排起了长队，前往配水点。
白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔说，密西西比州还没有正式请求联邦政府帮助运水，但是一旦提出请求，密西西比州愿意“尽我们所能”提供帮助。
“我们做好了准备，一旦收到该州的正式请求，我们渴望提供进一步的帮助，”她周二在《空军一号》上说。
官员们警告该市居民不要饮用这些水，因为这是从水库通过管道输送的生水。
自7月29日以来，杰克逊一直受到烧水通知。
2021年2月，冰冻的温度导致停水停电在杰克逊。
卢蒙巴在周二告诉ABC新闻直播节目，杰克逊不仅需要一个可持续的系统，还需要一个公平的系统。
“在我们城市的南部，我们受到的影响最大，”他说。“我们城市的一些最贫困的地区比我们城市的其他地区更持续地感受到这一挑战的冲击，情况更糟。”
卢蒙巴说，在当前的水危机宣布一天后，杰克逊的公共工程主任马林·金被重新分配到另一个角色。
据美国广播公司新闻杰克逊分支机构报道，金现在担任公共工程副主任，而前规划和发展主任乔丹·希尔曼将填补金的旧职位WAPT。
Jackson, Mississippi, water shortage crisis may cost billions of dollars to fix: Mayor
Staffing shortages, system issues and multiple equipment failures have led to a crisis where Jackson, Mississippi, residents have lost running water for an indefinite amount of time, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Lumumba attributed the city'swater crisisto a lack of maintenance over the last few decades, adding that it will cost billions of dollars to fix the issue.
"This is a set of accumulated problems based on deferred maintenance that's not taken place over decades," Lumumba said.
Lumumba estimated it would cost at least $1 billion to fix the water distribution system and billions more to resolve the issue altogether.
"The residents of Jackson are worthy of a dependable system, and we look forward to a coalition of the willing who will join us in the fight to improve this system that's been failing for decades," Lumumba said.
At least 180,000 people will go without reliable drinking water indefinitely in Jackson after pumps at the main water treatment plant failed this week, officials said.
A major pump at Jackson's O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant was damaged, forcing the city to use backup pumps, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at a news conference Monday evening.
Reeves declared a State of Emergency on Tuesday and activated the state's National Guard to help officials deal with the ongoing water emergency.
"The state is marshaling tremendous resources to protect the people of our capital city," Reeves said at the conference.
Residents will not have reliable running water in the state's capital until the problem is fixed, officials said.
Reeves said the water shortage would make it more difficult for Jackson to produce enough water to fight fires, flush toilets and other essential needs.
Residents have lined up on roads and highways throughout the city to get to water distribution sites.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Mississippi has not formally asked the federal government to help bring in water but is ready to help "in any way that we can" when that request is made.
"We stand ready and we are eager to assist further as soon as we receive an official request from the state," she said on Air Force One Tuesday.
Officials are warning the city's residents not to drink the water because it's raw water from the reservoirs being pushed through the pipes.
Jackson has been under a boil water notice since July 29.
In February 2021, freezing temperatures causedwater and power outagesin Jackson.
Lumumba told ABC News Live Prime on Tuesday that Jackson doesn't just need a sustainable system, but also an equitable one.
"We suffer in the southern portion of our city most disproportionately," he said. "Some of the most impoverished parts of our city are feeling the brunt of this challenge more consistently and worse off than the rest of our city."
A day after the current water crisis was announced, Jackson's Public Works Director Marlin King was reassigned to another role, Lumumba said.
King now serves as the deputy director of public works, while the former director of planning and development, Jordan Hillman, will fill King's old position, according to ABC News Jackson affiliateWAPT.
