Jackson, Mississippi Granted $115 Million In Federal Funds To ‘Stabilize' Water System
Less than nine months after a state of emergency was declared over drinking water issues in Mississippi’s capital city, federal officials have deployed an initial round of funding to address the underlying causes.
More than $100 million in funding has been distributed for repairs to Jackson, Mississippi’s beleaguered water system, President Joe Biden announced … the first tranche of more than half a billion dollars appropriated by Congress,” CNN reported. “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan called the funding a ‘significant shot in the arm.’”
Federal intervention was first prompted in September 2022, when 180,000 residents of Jackson were left without reliable running water “indefinitely” following excessive rainfall. Since then, an interim leader has been installed to address the biggest water system problems, but the city and state have not been able to determine a path forward for long-term management.
In the meantime, this $115 million in federal funding is aimed at ensuring consumers at least receive the basic right of clean drinking water.
“It will go towards continuing to stabilize this system, it will go to plugging some of the leaks in the distribution system, shoring up that integrity, ensuring that the pressure continues to stay at a certain rate,” Regan told CNN. “This process takes years, but people should not question the quality of their drinking water.”
Regan has underscored the crisis of confidence that the EPA and public water systems around the country face as places like Jackson struggle to maintain reliable service. While this initial $115 million is surely welcomed in the city, lawmakers seem to agree that the full allocation of funding is needed sooner rather than later.
“The $600 million approved by Congress last year includes $450 million for capital projects to improve Jackson’s water system and $150 million for technical assistance,” according to The Washington Post. “At a Homeland Security Committee hearing on water infrastructure last fall, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had expressed concern about Jackson’s water crisis and emphasized the need for longer-term solutions there.”
To read more about how public water systems pay for infrastructure upgrades, visit Water Online’s Funding Solutions Center.