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The boil water notice has been lifted in Jackson, Mississippi after the flooding damaged the city's largest water treatment facilities and left residents without safe drinking water, WLBT reports.
On Thursday (September 15), Governor Tate Reeves announced the end of the boil water advisory following state health officials testing 120 samples of water over two consecutive days.
“Since the state of Mississippi stepped in to fix Jackson’s water system, we’ve significantly increased the quantity of water produced, restored water pressure to the city, installed an emergency rental pump, fixed and reinstalled broken parts on-site, and monitored and tested water quality," Reeves said in a statement. "We can now announce that we have restored clean water to the city of Jackson.”
Though the boil water notice has been lifted, the Mississippi governor noted Thursday that the water system "is still imperfect," so it is necessary to "set expectations up front."
“While we have restored water quality, this system is still imperfect. And we are going to address issues throughout the duration of the state’s response,” Reeves said. “It is possible. Although I pray not inevitable, there will be further interruptions. We cannot perfectly predict what may go wrong with such a broken system in the future.”
Flooding to the Pearl River in late August overwhelmed the O.B. Curtis Water Plant and sent Jackson into its latest water crisis.
However, the majority-Black city has long faced issues with access to clean water due to its outdated infrastructure that is long-overdue maintenance.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said officials are investigating the latest water crisis in Jackson.
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