Jackson, Mississippi residents are facing a water crisis.  They have lost running water and it’s uncertain how long it will take to get it back. It’s also going to take billions… yes, billions of dollars to fix the problem.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, August 30, that the problem has been caused by maintenance neglect, shortage of staff, and equipment failures over many years.

“This is a set of accumulated problems based on deferred maintenance that’s not taken place over decades,” Lumumba said.

“The residents of Jackson are worthy of a dependable system, and we look forward to a coalition of the willing who will join us in the fight to improve this system that’s been failing for decades,” Lumumba said.

The pumps failed at the water treatment plant, resulting in about 180,000 people having no access to reliable water for drinking. 

The city is using backup pumps, according to Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. 

A State of Emergency was declared on Tuesday and the National Guard is helping out to supply water to residents of the state’s capital. 

The problem doesn’t mean only a lack of drinking water. It also is going to push people back into the 19th century, with a shortage of water to fight fires, flush toilets, shower and bathe, etc. The list goes on and on. 

Water distribution sites have been set up all over the city and people have been lining up for hours to receive a case of bottled water. 

Many people left disappointed, because there were only 700 cases, and they were quickly grabbed. 

Looks like Flint, Michigan all over again, but for a different reason. In Flint, the crisis was caused by lead. In Jackson, it’s caused by what was allegedly staff shortages, lack of maintenance, and failure of equipment. The governor said that flooding of the Pearl River due to heavy rain last week had an effect on the water treatment system and led to its breaking down. 

Residents were told back in July to boil all water used for human or pet consumption. 

The problem is not new, and they knew what was coming. One resident said, “It’s been building up for years, but we have had an unprecedented amount of rain in the last two to three weeks, and it just kind of created this havoc, what we are dealing with right now.” 

A water delivery truck was seen at the governor’s mansion.