Without water pressure, some people living in Jackson and parts of Byram are struggling to flush their toilets, clean dishes or get a shower. The water pressure dropped drastically on Monday as the O B Curtis water treatment plant began taking in large amounts of contaminated flood water, which slowed production and allowed water reserves to drain. Danielle Brown is a student at Belhaven University and says she and her boyfriend have been living under boil water notices for months.
“One of my friends was like ‘oh my gosh, your boyfriend he’s preparing like it’s an apocalypse.’ And while he was getting water in (the grocery store) I was like, she was wrong because it kinda is. Water’s a basic necessity and you know it’s like we don’t have access to that right now, and I don’t know when we will.”
Monday night state officials announced that they would be stepping in to assist at the troubled plant, and a team is stationed on site to better understand the multiple issues that must be addressed.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba says the city has requested state and federal aid for years to help update the water infrastructure. Now, he says the Department of Health will help pay for half of what is needed to get the plant operational again.
“We will be using ARPA funds and any available dollars that we have in order to meet our portion of that cost. The White House is watching critically in terms of what is taking place here, and so we look forward to additional support from them.”
It is unknown at this time how long it will take to get the O B Curtis plant back to full capacity, but officials say their first priority is restoring water pressure, then they will focus on getting that water safe to drink.
Non-potable water is available at two locations currently, Forest Hill High School at 2607 Raymond Road, and at the MetroCenter mall at 3645 off Highway 80. The metro center location is on the north-eastern side of the property.
The Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition in partnership with the City of Jackson will distribute bottled water daily at the following times and locations:
5 p.m. Monday - Friday
South Jackson
• Sykes Community Center, 520 Sykes Rd.
• Oak Forest Community Center, 2827 Oak Forest Dr.
West Jackson
• Westland Plaza Parking Lot
• IAJE Community Center, 406 W. Fortification St.
•
North Jackson
• Grove Park Community Center, 4126 Parkway Ave.
11 a.m. Saturdays
• Grove Park
• Sykes Community Center
1 p.m. Sundays
• Grove Park
• Sykes Community Center
• MS Move Across from Tougaloo College (3 - 7 p.m.)
