Winter Storm Knocks Out Drinking Water Systems in the South, Including in Jackson

The winter storm blanketing the country has caused a citywide boil-water notice in Jackson, Mississippi, just a few months after flooding collapsed the state capital’s drinking water system.

In effect, the city of Jackson’s drinking water infrastructure has now failed at both ends of a spectrum of extreme weather—conditions likely to become more frequent and more extreme as climate change continues to take hold.

An article by Nick Judin for the Mississippi Free Press reports the news, noting the timing of the boil water notice—just a few days after Congress approved an omnibus spending bill that includes $600 million for Jackson’s water system.

“Jackson’s newly established interim third-party management team will soon enjoy a massive war chest to fund its revitalization of the water system, a project previously estimated to have a total cost of $1 billion,” reports Judin.

The latest emergency came with some warning. “Interim Third Party Manager Ted Henifin warned the Mississippi Free Press last week that the distribution system was still seriously at risk from a deep freeze,” adds Judin.

Jackson isn’t the only community in the South facing drinking water emergencies because of the winter storm. Memphis, Tennessee and Shreveport, Louisiana are under citywide boil-water notices at the time of this article’s writing.