JACKSON, Miss — Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced Monday that water pressure had been restored to the city of Jackson after "historic and unprecedented steps" by the state.
"Today, some seven days later, I'm very happy to report that we have returned water pressure to the city. The tanks are full or filling. There are currently zero water tanks at low levels," he said.
The governor added that after the bad water had been flushed out, he hoped Jacksonians would have access to clean water and that investigative testing would resume.
Meanwhile, he warned "there may be more bad days in the future" as the underlying issues of the city's water system still remained.
Jackson officials had announced Sunday that water pressure was restored to most of the city's customers.
The boil notice will continue until the city reports two rounds of clear samples. In the meantime, residents should use bottled water or water boiled for one minute and then cooled for “drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation,” according to the city's website.
Torrential rains and flooding of the Pearl River exacerbated problems at the city's treatment plant, leading to a drop in pressure throughout the city, where residents were already under a boil-water order due to poor quality.
As water pressure is restored, some officials fear the increase could break aging pipes.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said on a Sunday morning news show that the city is “a matter of days” away from water fit for consumption. Despite the gains, Lumumba said that Jackson is “still in an emergency."
The city “will be in an emergency even as the water is restored to every home, and even as the boil water notice is lifted, because that is the fragile state of our water treatment facility,” Lumumba said in an appearance on ABC's “This Week."
