Mississippi's capital city was facing a third day Wednesday without stable water service, forcing restaurants to close or use creative solutions, schools and businesses to close and residents to wait in long lines for bottled water.
Jackson, Miss., water problems had been brewing for a month, when the city went under a boil-water notice in July. The problems crested Monday when flooding on the Pearl River caused failures at the main treatment plant, which meant residents didn’t enough water to flush toilets and firefighters didn’t have water to fight blazes.
Jackson restaurants were adjusting as the water crisis extended past 33 days.
A spokeswoman for Newk’s Eatery said one location of the multi-unit brand was affected.
“Newk’s sourced a 350-gallon potable water tank for dishwashing, sanitizing and cleaning our kitchens,” she said. “We are using our neighboring kitchens to transport clean safe water. Newk’s is providing hand sanitizer for our guests and staff.”
Restaurant conveniences like lavatories and dishware were also a challenge.
“We are renting porta potties for our guests and staff,” the Newk’s spokeswoman said. “The restaurant transitioned to disposable plateware and is offering Newk’s Cares bottled water and canned Coke products. Our vegetables are pre-washed.”
The water problems also led Newk’s to reduce operating hours. “We are closing one hour early each day to deep clean and sanitize to offer a clean and safe dining option,” the spokesperson said.
With no water pressure in some businesses, Alex Eaton, owner of of Aplόs Simple Mediterranean restaurant in Highland Village, told WLBT television that restaurants were getting creative.
“We had to call our friends in low places,” Eaton said. “I brought in a porta john for the center. We’ve had to go get a water truck last night, [I] went to my parent’s house [and] filled it up with that beautiful Ridgeland water.” Ridgeland, Miss., is a separate municipality north of Jackson with a its own water treatment system.
Jackson city officials were "optimistic that we can see water restored to our” nearly 150,000 residents within this week, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told CNN Wednesday.
"There is a huge mountain to climb in order to achieve that," he said.
The city’s public schools had shifted to virtual learning Tuesday as the water crisis deepened.
The City of Jackson has brought in tankers to distribute non-potable water to residents in need.
“Residents are asked to bring a container — such as a garbage can or cooler — to store the water,” the city said in an update. “Non-potable water is not of drinking quality, but may still be used for other purposes, such as flushing toilets, washing clothes and cleaning.”
The city’s main water treatment plant was operating at a reduced capacity. On Tuesday, the plant was pumping about 30 million gallons of a day; it is rated to pump about 50 million gallons a day, Jim Craig, director of health protection at the state health department, told reporters Tuesday.
CNN reported that in February 2021, a severe winter storm froze and burst pipes in Jackson, leaving many residents without water for a month.
"Since that time, there has not been a month where we have not experienced no-flow to low-flow in certain areas in south Jackson, and so it's very frustrating," a city councilperson told CNN.
The EPA recently announced $74.9 million in federal water and sewer infrastructure funds for Mississippi.
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