A small leak in an ammonia tank forced officials to shut down a section of a water treatment plant late Thursday, Jim Craig, a state health official, said Friday. Plant officials must constantly account for changes in sediment and chemical levels in water entering the system after recent torrential rains and flooding, Craig added. “It’s like fixing the plane while you’re still flying,” Craig said at a news conference Friday afternoon with Gov. Tate Reeves. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba noted in a press conference that once pressure is restored, there are concerns about straining the aging, fragile pipes. And even when the water is running again, it’s not clear when it will be drinkable. Last week’s rains, followed by flooding on the Pearl River, exacerbated long-standing problems at the OB Curtis treatment plant, leading to a drop in pressure across Jackson, where residents were already under a month-long boil order due to poor water quality. The problems led to an emergency declaration Monday by the Republican governor and a disaster declaration by President Joe Biden. Biden’s infrastructure coordinator, Mitch Landrieu, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Dean Criswell were in Jackson to get a firsthand look at the problem Friday. “This is a true testament to President Biden’s commitment,” Criswell said at an evening news conference with Reeves and other state officials. He toured the main water treatment plant earlier in the day with Reeves. “Many are now experiencing physiological stress. Areas farther from the plant and at higher elevations may still be under low to no pressure,” the city said Friday morning. But, among the setbacks: the pressure dropped a bit at one point as treatment plant staff had to deal with chemical imbalances in the water, Craig said Friday night. All of this is a constant strain on residents like 64-year-old Mary Gaines, a resident of a complex for the elderly and disabled. “It’s a very nice place to live. We just don’t have water,” Gaines said. “And most senior citizens don’t have a car, so we have to get water where we can.” At his news conference Friday, the Republican governor repeatedly emphasized what he called a unified state, federal and local response to the crisis, rejecting any suggestion of a break with the mayor or president, both Democrats. He thanked Criswell and Landrieu for their help and noted that Biden had “quickly signed” a disaster statement. Lumumba was not invited to a Reeves news conference on Monday as the crisis unfolded and was not at Friday’s news conference. But he appeared with Reeves earlier in the day during a water plant tour and was part of a news conference on Thursday. Reeves did not address or comment on comments Biden made to reporters at the White House late Thursday. “We offered everything available in Mississippi. The governor has to act,” Biden told reporters. “There is money to deal with this problem. We gave them EPA. We gave them everything we can offer.” White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre declined to elaborate on Biden’s remarks on Friday. He confirmed that Biden and Reeves have not spoken to each other about the crisis, but downplayed the lack of a call, saying it was “not necessary to advance any progress in this situation.” Statewide, there is about $75 million specifically for water resources available through a bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by Biden last year, Jean-Pierre said. Asked Friday if he would visit Mississippi, Biden said he has no plans. Biden said he was talking to people in Mississippi, including Lumumba. Residents in Jackson have long struggled with a faulty water system before the latest crisis. The National Guard has been called in to help distribute water. The state emergency agency said nearly 2.8 million bottles of water were distributed between noon Thursday and Friday afternoon. Non-potable water, for toilet flushing and other uses, was also provided to people who brought their own containers in some locations. The entire city was left without water or with low pressure at one point. Figures were not available on how many homes and businesses had been restored.
McGill reported from New Orleans. Associated Press writers Michael Goldberg in Jackson, Rebecca Santana in New Orleans and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.
