密西西比州杰克逊的居民正面临清洁水短缺，几天前，州长泰特·里维斯宣布该市主要水处理设施的一个主要水泵受损。该市市长表示，当前的水危机是多年问题的结果。
这O.B .柯蒂斯水处理厂受损上周，由于强降雨，该市经历了高水平的洪水，导致该市没有足够的安全水供人们使用。
受损设施导致全部或接近全部损失水压损失在整个杰克逊和Hinds县的其他地区，从工厂接收水。
杰克逊市长乔克韦·安塔尔·卢蒙巴说，一个新的水泵于周三抵达并安装在该设施上。但是里夫斯在同一天说，工厂有大量的工作要做，城市里的烧水通知将继续，直到另行通知。
周末创纪录的洪水导致密西西比州中部的巴尼特水库满溢。洪水在周一达到顶峰，当时测得的最高水位为35.37英尺，仅低于36英尺的主洪水位。28英尺以上的水位被认为是洪水水位。自那以后，水位一直在下降。
周一，里夫斯说，该市正在使用备用水泵，但在问题得到解决之前，居民将没有可靠的自来水，城市将无法生产足够的水来满足严重的需求，包括灭火和冲洗厕所。根据密西西比州卫生部的紧急命令，第二个水处理设施J.H. Fewell也面临着持证操作人员数量不足的问题。
卢蒙巴说，在过去的两年里，该市在供水方面一直处于“持续的紧急状态”。他在周二的新闻发布会上说，即使没有低水压或该市没有发布烧水通知，危机仍在继续。
“我在多个场合说过，这不是我们的体系是否会失败的问题。而是我们的系统何时会失败的问题。
杰克逊的珠江流域经历了2020年严重洪灾当水位达到36.67英尺时。
Lumumba说，人员短缺、系统问题和许多设备故障都导致了水厂的全面失败。
卢蒙巴说:“这是一系列累积的问题，其基础是几十年来从未发生过的延期维修。”。
2022年8月31日，密西西比州杰克逊，杰克逊救世军和沃尔玛在沃尔玛分发瓶装水。
布拉德·维斯特/盖蒂图片社
卢蒙巴星期二在接受美国广播公司新闻直播采访时说，目前的危机源于长达30年的延期维修和缺乏对系统的资本改进。
“我们每年都经历更热的夏天、更冷的冬天和更多的降水，这对我们的基础设施造成了损害。因此，我们需要支持，不仅要在我们的系统中创造可持续性和公平性，而且还要使我们的系统适应气候变化，”卢蒙巴说。
他说，当前的危机发生是因为该设施正在接收洪水，这改变了水的整体成分，使其难以处理，并具有潜在的危险。因此，该工厂需要更多的时间来处理水，这就是为什么居民经历了很少的水压和供水减少。
官员们正在冲洗系统中的污水，并试图进行重要的维护和紧急维修，但里夫斯周三警告说，未来还会有中断，说这在这一点上是不可避免的。
周三，该工厂的化学物质失衡也迫使官员关闭了工厂的一部分。该州卫生部健康保护主任吉姆·克雷格(Jim Craig)周三表示，尽管有一些改进，但该工厂仍面临电气和机械问题。
克雷格说，工厂水池底部的淤泥也是一个大问题。
为了解决当前的危机，卢蒙巴说，它可以花费数十亿美元、“远在城市力所不及”来修理或更换水厂。市长说，该市已经为该系统投入了数百万美元，但可能达不到目标。
“杰克逊的居民是值得的。他们值得一个可靠的系统，我们期待着一个有意愿的联盟，与我们一起努力改善这个已经失败了几十年的系统，”卢蒙巴周二说。
州长已经宣布紧急状态并启动了国民警卫队。该州已经设立了水分配站，向居民分发饮用水和非饮用水，周四开放了七个新的站点。
里夫斯还要求对水危机做出紧急联邦声明，这得到了总统乔·拜登的批准。
'A set of accumulated problems': Why Jackson, Mississippi, is facing a water crisis
Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, are facing a clean water shortage, days after Gov. Tate Reeves announced a major pump at the city's main water treatment facility was damaged. The city's mayor says the current water crisis is a result of years-long issues.
Thedamage to the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment planthappened after the city experienced a high level of flooding due to heavy rainfall over the last week, leaving the city without enough safe water for people to use.
The damaged facility resulted in a total loss or near-totalloss of water pressurethroughout Jackson and other areas in Hinds County that receive water from the plant.
A new pump arrived and was installed at the facility on Wednesday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said. But Reeves said on the same day that there is a tremendous amount of work to be done on the plant and the boil water notice in the city will continue until further notice.
Record flooding over the weekend caused water to fill up the Barnett Reservoir in central Mississippi. Flooding crested on Monday when water levels were measured at a peak of 35.37 feet, just below the major flood stage of 36 feet. Water levels above 28 feet are considered flood stage. The water has since been receding.
On Monday, Reeves said the city is using backup pumps, but until the problem is fixed, residents will not have reliable running water and the city will not be able to produce enough water for serious needs, including fighting fires and flushing toilets. A second water treatment facility,J.H. Fewell, is also experiencing an insufficient number of certified operators, according to the Mississippi Department of Health's emergency order.
According to Lumumba, the city has been experiencing "a constant state of emergency" for the last two years when it comes to its water supply. Even when there isn't low water pressure or the city has not issued a boil water notice, the crisis continues, he said during a press briefing Tuesday.
"I have said on multiple occasions, that it's not a matter of if our system would fail. But a matter of when our system will fail," Lumumba said.
The Pearl River area in Jackson experiencedsevere flooding in 2020when water levels crested at 36.67 feet.
Staffing shortages, system issues and numerous equipment failures have all contributed to the overall failure of the water plant, according to Lumumba.
"This is a set of accumulated problems based on deferred maintenance that has not taken place over decades," Lumumba said.
In an interview on ABC News Live Tuesday, Lumumba said the current crisis stems from up to 30 years of deferred maintenance and a lack of capital improvements to the system.
"We've had hotter summers, colder winters and more precipitation each year and it's taking a toll on our infrastructure. And so we need the support to not only create sustainability and equity in our system, but to also weatherize our system," Lumumba said.
The current crisis happened because the facility was receiving flood water, that changed the overall composition of the water making it difficult to treat and potentially dangerous, he said. The plant therefore needed more time to treat the water, which is why residents were experiencing little water pressure and less water supply.
Officials are flushing bad water out of the system and attempting to do critical maintenance and emergency repairs, but Reeves warned Wednesday that there will be future interruptions, saying they are unavoidable at this point.
A chemical imbalance at the plant on Wednesday also forced officials to shut down part of the plant. While there were some improvements made, the plant is still facing an electrical and mechanical problem, Jim Craig, the director of health protection at the state's Department of Health, said Wednesday.
Sludge at the bottom of the water basins at the plant is also a huge issue, Craig said.
To solve the ongoing crisis, Lumumba said that it couldcost billions of dollars, "far beyond the city's reach" to fix or replace the water plant. The city has put in millions of dollars already towards the system, but it will likely fall short, said the mayor.
"The residents of Jackson are worthy. They are worthy of a dependable system, and we look forward to a coalition of the willing that will join us in the fight to improve this system that has been failing for decades," said Lumumba on Tuesday.
The governor has declareda state of emergencyand activated the National Guard. The state has set up water distribution sites to hand out drinkable and non-drinkable water to residents in the meantime, opening up seven new sites on Thursday.
Reeves also requested an emergency federal declaration for the water crisis, which was approved by President Joe Biden.
