Biden declares emergency over water crisis in Mississippi capital

President Biden declared an emergency in Mississippi on Tuesday, freeing up federal resources to assist local and state officials in responding to a water crisis in the state’s capital.

The water system in Jackson, Miss., has failed in recent days, leaving residents with little to no drinking water. Officials have blamed flooding along the Pearl River and previous issues that have plagued a local water treatment plant’s operations.

Biden’s emergency declaration authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide assistance and coordinate disaster relief efforts funded 75 percent by the federal government for 90 days.

“FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency,” the White House said in a statement.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre earlier in the day said the White House had been in regular contact with state and local officials, including Jackson’s mayor.

“Our federal disaster declaration for Jackson water has been approved,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) tweeted. “Grateful to @FEMA_Deanne for our long conversation about the crisis this evening, for she and Gracia and @femaregion4 team for their swift work and the White House for ultimately granting the request.

State and local officials have resorted to handing out drinking water for tens of thousands of residents as officials advise them not to drink the tap water or use it to even brush their teeth. Reeves activated the National Guard to assist.

The crisis has also exposed a rift between the state and city officials, including Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba (D), who have reportedly offered differing accounts of the crisis’s cause. Residents had been under a boil water advisory for roughly a month.

The city has blamed the latest issues on flooding from the Pearl River, but the local O.B. Curtis Water Plant has faced issues for years.

The Environmental Protection Agency identified concerns with the system, including compliance deficiencies and maintenance issues, and in March 2020 issued a Safe Drinking Water Act Emergency Administrative Order to address some of the concerns.

In February 2021, the city experienced a system-wide failure, including frozen pipes and low water pressure, that led to some residents going without water for several weeks. 

Lumumba has previously acknowledged the system’s issues but stressed Jackson was unable to receive sufficient outside resources to solve the problems.

“We’ve been going it alone for the better part of two years when it comes to the Jackson water crisis,” Lumumba said at a press conference on Tuesday. 

Lumumba also said he welcomed the state’s emergency declaration and support but clarified what he described as “inaccuracies” from Reeves, saying the city has not distributed any untreated, raw water.

“In too many cases, it is raw water from the reservoir being pushed through the pipes,” Reeves said earlier.

Lumumba met with state officials on Monday to discuss the crisis, a meeting the mayor described as “very productive.”