(2022-08-30) Jackson, Mississippi water issues

Jackson, Mississippi’s water system is failing and water across the city is entirely unsafe to drink, officials said at an emergency briefing Monday night. State leadership have warned all residents of Mississippi’s capital city to boil water before drinking or even brushing their teeth (clean water)... “This is a very different situation from a boil water notice,” Reeves said at a press event tonight. “Until it is fixed, we do not have reliable running water at scale. The city cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to flush toilets and to meet other critical needs. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency will take the state’s lead on distributing drinking water and non-drinking water to residents of the City of Jackson.”... Following a month without clean, drinkable water, Jackson has now mostly lost water pressure, with operational collapses at O.B. Curtis reducing the flow of water through the city’s distribution system to the degree that residences and businesses across the city have little or no water at all.

Aug09: Due to mechanical issues at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant, some areas of Jackson may experience low water pressure. City workers are currently troubleshooting one of the plant’s raw water pumps that has been malfunctioning. This has led to a decrease in the amount of water we produce, resulting in lower water pressure.

Aug08: Jackson Mayor, Health Department Clash Over Drinking Water Safety

Aug08: Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba gave the media a rare opportunity to tour parts of the inside of the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Facility... The mayor said the city is working to retrofit the treatment process to become automated instead of crews manually adding chemicals.

Jul29: City of Jackson, Health Department clarify water conservation advisory

Jul19: Emails reveal lack of maintenance led to citywide boil water notices

Jun27: Ammonia leak, membrane filtration problems led to citywide boil water notice, loss of water pressure last week

Mar'2015: On March 27, 2015, Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber issued a state of emergency for transportation (potholes) and water infrastructure (breaks in water mains).[120][121] The quality of Jackson's water infrastructure system decreased after the severe winter weather of 2014–2015. Jackson's office estimated the cost to fix the roads and water pipes at $750 million to $1 billion.

The Ross Barnett Reservoir is managed by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District (PRVWSD), an agency of the State of Mississippi. In addition to recreation, the reservoir serves as the primary source of drinking water for the City of Jackson's O. B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant. Water released into the Pearl River is monitored and controlled from an electrical/mechanical spillway and gate system that is part of a man-made earthen dam comprising most of the lake's southern shore. The maximum output of the 10-gate spillway is 170,000 cubic feet per second (cfs).