Mississippi: “In the shower make sure your mouth is not open”

The approximately 150,000 residents of Jackson, the capital of the state of Mississippi, have been without running water for four days USA, mostly African-American. Authorities have called on those who still have water in their homes to be careful not to drink it while showering.

This city in the southern US, whose population is 80% black and whose poverty rate is high, has been facing serious problems in its water supply for years. But since the beginning of this week, Jackson has been under a state of emergency. Floods caused problems at a water treatment plant, as a result of which the water supply was interrupted, APE-MPE reports, citing AFP and Reuters.

When they turn on the tap in their house the townspeople see a few drops or coffee coming out water, so they have to wait in line to get bottles of bottled water. “I feel like I’m living in a nightmare,” Erin Washington, a student at Jackson State University, told CNN.

And as long as water runs from the taps it is not drinkable, the authorities emphasize. “In the shower make sure your mouth is not open because you shouldn’t drink this water”Mississippi State Health Official Jim Craig said Wednesday.

Schools with distance learning

City officials indicated yesterday that the situation is improving, with some neighborhoods having water pressure again. The mayor’s office also clarified that “significant progress has been made at the factory during the night and today (Thursday) morning.” A temporary pump was installed in it on Wednesday.

However, the daily life of the residents of Jackson has been disrupted. Schools are doing distance learning classes and stores are paying a big price.

“Hotels and restaurants, which were already in dire straits, can’t open or are forced to adjust by buying ice, water or soft drinks,” Jeff Redd, president of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, told CNN. “People are at their limits,” commented Sara Friedler, who works at a local restaurant, speaking to a local newspaper.

The situation facing Jackson residents is reminiscent of one of the worst health scandals in American history, the contaminated water in Flint, Michigan a decade ago. In that city the decision to change the img of the drinking water supply, for reasons of economy, contaminated the network exposing the residents to lead.