Governor Tate Reeves has issued an executive order officially ending the state of emergency surrounding the city of Jackson’s water crisis.
Jackson and surrounding areas of Hinds County that receive water from the O.B. Curtis water treatment plant will no longer be under the emergency order effective 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22.
Reeves initially declared the situation a state of emergency on August 29, with a nearly month-long boil water alert in place, and the two primary raw water pumps at O.B. Curtis previously removed for repairs and out of commission.
Now, the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that the water from both the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant and the J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant is safe to drink.
“I’m incredibly thankful to the folks at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Mississippi State Department of Health, and the Mississippi National Guard who worked tirelessly to restore clean water to the residents of Jackson and respond to this emergency situation. They have made countless repairs, brought in new equipment, and done heroic work,” Governor Tate Reeves said. “The only remaining imminent challenge is the city’s refusal to hire routine maintenance staff, and that cannot constitute a state emergency. We need new leadership at the helm so that this crisis of incompetence cannot continue.”
Further, the Jackson City Council has unanimously approved an agreement with the federal government regarding appointing a third-party administrator to operate the city’s water system.
“It is also clear that the federal government is working to ensure that Jackson political leadership does not have the authority to mismanage the water system any further. That process needs to be completed, and it needs to be completed quickly,” Reeves added. “As the justification for an emergency under state statute no longer exists and in order for that momentum to continue, we need to stick with our deadline to end our State of Emergency and our operating of the city’s water system for them. I am hopeful that the federal government’s efforts to take control away from incompetent hands will wrap up swiftly.”
