Water issues continue to plague the city of Jackson

Photo by William H. Kelly, III

Tatyana Ross
Editor-in-Chief 

On-going water issues in Jackson, Miss. continue to plague the residents after several households were left with no running water, low water pressure and boil water notices during the recent holidays.

During a recent town hall meeting, according to published reports, Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks said third-party administrator Ted Henifin told him water pressure dropped while a crew was working on a problem with a water valve.

Some residents are outraged by the constant water issues in their communities and feel like the city needs to find a better solution. Alexus Brown, a Jackson resident, said she is completely fed up with the constant water complications.

“You never know these days. You can go to sleep one night and wake up the next morning and there’s barely a drip coming from the faucet,” Brown said.

The water pressure issues have also affected Jackson State faculty, staff, and students and the university released a statement nearing the end of Winter Break informing students to anticipate using portable restrooms and to expect heating and cooling challenges in residence halls.

The official statement read, “As an update, the City of Jackson continues to address the water system encompassing the campus. Unfortunately, the process of restoring water to normal operating levels has been slower than expected. Conditions of low to no water pressure negatively impacts our ability to provide and maintain adequate air conditioning and heating, restrooms and showers, laundry service, and normal food preparation.”

However, these conditions were not an issue and in-person classes started promptly on Jan. 9, 2023.

Emerald Bowen, a junior healthcare administration from Columbus, Miss., said that she feels like Jackson State is trying their best to accommodate students amongst the issues with the water. 

“To know that this situation is a long-standing issue is a problem when there are funds in place to help. I was taught to use all my resources,” Bowen said. “In order to better conditions we need better leadership within our community and our state.  I’m not confident about the leadership Jackson has nor do I trust the Governor.”

Water pressure issues persist city-wide leading to the city opening a water distribution center at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds for non-potable water for flushing and cleaning. 

Brown said she thinks the media has forgotten about the conditions of water in the community and said the issue still needs to be seen in the eyes of the public outside of Jackson. 

“The world forgot about us just that quick. I know it is an issue we’ve had for a long time but I don’t think it has ever gotten this bad,” Brown said. 

Though some residents of Jackson are feeling forgotten about in the media, famous actor and comedian, Mike Epps stopped in Jackson on tour to host a show at the Convention Center. 

According to Channel 12 WJTV, more than one hundred cars lined up as Epps helped distribute cases of bottled water. Epps posed for pictures with fans and said he chose to help out after hearing the latest about the water crisis. 

“It’s on the news worldwide. I live in California, and we hear about it on the news as if we were in Jackson. We wanted to do a comedy show. We want to bring good vibes,” Epps said in the WJTV report. “Nobody’s thinking to come to places like this and be positive and bring joy. We’re always going to the big cities where everybody’s hit, but this is a city that really needs to stay resilient, man.”

He added, “Keep God first. It’s going to get better and keep on writing and voting to your judges and writing to the government to try to get some help here.”