Jackson, MS Drinking Water

The water system in the City of Jackson has more than 71,000 water connections and serves the largest city in Mississippi. Following a February 2020 inspection, EPA issued a March 2020 Emergency Order to address compliance deficiencies noted during the inspection, including operational and maintenance concerns. In coordination with City of Jackson and Mississippi partners, EPA is taking steps to ensure the residents of Jackson have access to safe drinking water. Based on EPA assessment, there are significant public health and safety concerns and extensive repairs must be made to both of Jackson’s water treatment plants to deliver safe drinking water.

New: July 1, 2021 Safe Drinking Water Administrative Order on Consent (pdf).

To date, the City of Jackson has been addressing EPA concerns reported in the following documents:

1. EPA National Enforcement Investigations Center Civil Investigation Report (Feb. 2020 – transmitted to City on March 30, 2020) (pdf).
2. March 27, 2020 Emergency Order (pdf).
3. May 28, 2020 Emergency Order Amendment (pdf).
4. May 11, 2020 Notice of Noncompliance (pdf).
5. April 26, 2021 Notice of Noncompliance (pdf).

On July 1, 2021, EPA and the City of Jackson entered into entered into a Safe Drinking Water Administrative Order on Consent with the City of Jackson to address long term challenges and make needed improvements to the drinking water system. The agreement memorializes enforceable steps and specific time frames for the City to come into compliance with national and state regulations to reliably deliver safe drinking water and ensure the public’s health is protected. Read more in the July 1, 2021 news release. (https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-city-jackson-mississippi-reach-agreement-improve-drinking-water-and-protect).