New reports from the Mississippi Department of Health show significant improvements at the O B Curtis water treatment plant in Jackson, which was disrupted last week by flooding which caused water pressure across the city to drop. Now, pressure has been mostly restored, but boil notices remain in effect for all residents. MSDH Deputy Director Jim Craig says the agency may begin official testing as early as tomorrow to see if taps can meet their safety standards.
“Really critical processes such as the chemical balancing system are needed before that can be removed,” says Craig. “Very hopeful that we’ll get some investigative testing done out in the system … will help us indicate whether it is time for us to begin the sampling for bacteria to see if the water is ready to be removed from the boil water notice.”
Last week, Gov. Tate Reeves was joined by Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba in a press conference announcing seven water distribution mega-sites, and he refused to answer questions that he claimed would be divisive in a time of emergency. But now, Reeves has placed nearly all causation for the crisis at the water plant on city management.
“We’ve administered approximately $150 million in state and federal funds to the city over the last several years. We’ll spend tens of millions of dollars more on this mission,” says Reeves. “I vetoed state funding for golf courses and parking lots in Jackson this year because I knew that we would need to provide big investments like this at some point.”
No statements from the mayor’s office has been made available at this time, but a spokesperson says "their hearts go out" to all residents who are affected by the boil notice.
