Mississippi capital residents ‘tired of apologies’ as water shutoffs continue

Residents of the largest city in mississippi They are “tired of apologizing” but have no choice but to put up with continued water outages in the wake of extreme weather, authorities said Tuesday.

jackson city told the residents go to any one of the four locations around the city on Tuesday afternoon to collect water, as there is no clear end to the current crisis brought on by freezing temperatures.

“I have spoken to the residents who are tired of the apologies,” Mayor Antar Lumumba told reporters on Tuesday, saying it is not known when this current walkout will end.

Last weekend’s winter frost caused pipes to burst, leaving thousands of residents of Mississippi’s largest city and state capital without safe running water.

“There is no way to prevent what is happening to our water treatment plant. We don’t control Mother Nature,” said Lumumba. “We’re dealing with an old, dilapidated system that continues to deliver challenge after challenge.”

Lumumba thanked crews who searched for pipe breaks throughout the city as federal, state and local authorities continue to search for a lasting solution to Jackson’s frayed system.

“They continue to work on the water treatment plant, they continue to be part of the coordinated effort to repair the breaks where they have occurred,” the mayor said.

“And this will not only be the case during this emergency. But as we well know, this will be our rule for some time as we have reached this agreement with the EPA.”

A representative for the Jackson Zoo said there is enough water to ensure the animals are safe and Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Armon assured residents they have enough resources to fight the blazes.

While several fire stations don’t have running water, each unit has at least 500 gallons available, so firefighters should be able to make that stretch for now, according to Armon.

“We have the ability … to fight fires in circumstances or situations where we have low water pressure,” Armon said.

The the city issued a boil water notice on Christmas day and asked residents to turn off taps and check businesses and churches for leaks and broken pipes.

Jackson officials said residents on monday that there were “significant leaks in the system that we have not yet identified.”

The city ​​of about 150,000 it has an overwhelmingly black population with over 82% of residents identifying as African American.

A flood in August also wreaked havoc on the distribution system, forcing residents to scramble for water.