Funviralpark Water pressure is low in some areas of Jackson, and residents said there was no water pressure on Christmas Eve.
As temperatures remain below freezing, production has slowed at one of the city’s water treatment plants, and authorities have been working to fix a pressure drop likely caused by leaks and water outages.
City spokesperson Melissa Payne said cooler temperatures have contributed to more breaks. “Our crew is currently working to repair these leaks and disconnections. Despite the difficulties, both plants are still in production,” Payne said in her statement.
Further disruption to Jackson’s water system comes just months after the city of Jackson, home to about 150,000 residents, lost its water supply in late August.
The water system is in crisis after floods exacerbate long-standing problems at one of its two water treatment plants. Most of Jackson lost running water for several days, and people waited in line to drink, cook, bathe, and flush toilets.
In February 2021, tens of thousands of Jackson residents were left without running water for days after water pipes froze. The temperature was reflected in this week’s cold snap.
Ahead of this weekend’s “Arctic blast” that brought dangerously cold air to Jackson, Mayor Chokwe Antal Lumumba warned that the city’s water distribution system remained “a major vulnerability.”
“We are not in a position to promise that sustained Arctic temperatures will not affect water systems and other infrastructure,” Lumumba said on Monday. “We prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.”
In a social media post, the Jackson branch of the National Weather Service said Friday’s high temperature in the city was 24 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 4 degrees Celsius), tying it for the second lowest high to date dating back to 1963. said. Mass,” the announcement said.
Freeze conditions occurred Saturday as a winter storm powered hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses and disrupted travel plans across the United States.
___
Michael Goldberg is a member of the Associated Press/Reports for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover hidden issues. Follow him on Twitter. twitter.com/mikergoldberg.
