Weeks of disrupted water supply has Jackson frustrated

Frustrations are mounting in Mississippi’s largest city, more than two weeks since winter storms and freezing weather ravaged Jackson’s water system — knocking out water for drinking and making it impossible for many to even flush their toilets.

For more than two weeks now, residents in the city of 160,000 have been warned to boil any water that does come out of kitchen taps before using it.

“I’m not sure how much more of this we can take,” Jackson resident Nita Smith said.

She has not had water at her house for nearly three weeks now. Smith is concerned about her mother who has diabetes, since not having water makes it difficult to take her medicine. Her mother and most of the other older people on her street don’t drive anymore, so she’s been helping them get water to clean themselves and flush their toilets, she said.

A key focus of city crews this week is filling the system’s water tanks to an optimal level, officials said in an update late Tuesday. Workers are also continuing to fix dozens of water main breaks and leaks throughout the capital city.

City officials on Wednesday continued distributing water for flushing toilets at several pick-up points.

But they have given no specific timeline for when the crisis will be resolved, nor have they said how many residents remain without water. It is difficult to estimate how many customers remained without water Wednesday, said Michelle Atoa, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office.

Bonnie Bishop, 68, and her husband, Mike, 63, have been without water at their Jackson home for 14 days as both struggle with health problems.

She’s recovering after a 3½-month hospital stay with the coronavirus and back at home but still in therapy to learn how to walk again and deals with constant neuropathy in her hands and feet.

She has not been able to soak her feet in warm water, something that usually helps with the neuropathy, or help her husband with gathering water to boil for cooking for cleaning.

Mike Bishop just had surgery on his elbow. The first week of the couple was without water, he still had staples in his arm and was hauling five-gallon containers from his truck, his wife said. Bonnie Bishop said she told her husband not to strain himself, but he wouldn’t listen. They need water, and feel like they have no choice.

On Monday, the couple drove 25 miles to Mike’s mother’s house to do laundry.

“It’s a lot of wear and tear on the elderly,” Bonnie said.

ROGELIO V. SOLIS/ AP Members of the Mississippi Army National Guard fill five-gallon buckets with non-potable water at a Jackson, Miss., distribution site weeks after winter storms wreaked havoc on the city’s water system.