What Jackson residents need to know as water pressure stabilizes – Clarion Ledger

One week after most people in Jackson lost access to reliable running water, they now have it back.

That said, a number of questions are still on the minds of residents, including when the water will be safe to drink.

State and local leaders have been hesitant to provide a timeline for an end to the boil-water notice, but both Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Gov. Tate Reeves have said it will likely happen in the coming days.

More:Jackson's boil water notice could end soon, governor says amid ongoing tension with city

"I have found that in disasters such as this it is better for leaders to under-promise and overdeliver," Reeves said at a news conference Monday. "I think you will be able to measure that in days, not months or weeks."

In order for the boil-water notice to end, the city will need to see two consecutive days of clean test results from the 120 sampling points located throughout the city. Testing was put on pause when heavy rain moved through Jackson two weeks ago, and has not resumed due to the water pressure issues. At the news conference Monday, Reeves and Mississippi State Department of Health Director of Health Protection Jim Craig said that investigative testing at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant would begin that day, and if those tests went well they would quickly move on to the multi-site testing necessary to end the boil-water notice.

One of the causes of the boil-water notice is the use of a lime slurry at the Curtis plant. Prior to the water pressure dropping, Lumumba had repeatedly said it was the culprit behind the high turbidity levels in the drinking water. He had said it would be about a year before the plant could switch to solid soda ash, a different treatment method that would cause less turbidity.

Craig said Monday that the state has been able to acquire liquid soda ash, and they hope to be able to use that at the plant well before the timeline the mayor had previously given. The use of soda ash could reduce the chance of future boil-water notices.

"We may be able to move the mayor's timeline up," Craig said.

Reeves gave a very simple answer to that question.

"Yes," Reeves said Monday, before calling up Craig to give information.

Many residents are worried that even if there is not high turbidity or dangerous bacteria in the city's water, both of which can cause boil-water notices, it still may not be safe. A Clarion Ledger investigation in 2021 found evidence of lead in the city's drinking water. Despite this, Reeves, Lumumba and Craig have all said they trust the city's water when it is not under a boil-water notice. Lumumba has said he will drink it.

Craig said Monday that some of the investigative testing that the health department does will go beyond looking at bacteria and turbidity.

Jackson remains under the same boil-water notice it has been dealing with for over a month.

Residents are cautioned not to drink, brush your teeth, make ice, cook or wash dishes with tap water unless it has first been boiled for at least one minute. Using an at-home dishwasher is not recommended either.

What can be done, now that water pressure is high enough across the city, is bathing, showering, washing hands and cleaning laundry. Those actions are all safe as long as no tap water is swallowed, according to the city.

The city has been distributing bottled water at various sites since the boil-water notice first began. The state began distributing water last week, after activating the national guard, and has distributed about 5 million bottles of water in that time, Reeves said Monday. Faith-based groups and charities have also been organizing a number of bottled water distribution sites.

Some of the state-run distribution sites will be closing tomorrow because they were located at schools. Jackson Public Schools are returning to in-person instruction Tuesday after the restoration of water pressure and efforts from charities to provide them with water. The manpower and equipment that had been used at those schools will be redirected to other distribution sites, which will see their capacities expand.

As of Tuesday, the state-run water distribution sites will be:

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What Jackson residents need to know as water pressure stabilizes - Clarion Ledger