How Jackson, MS, Residents Are Living Without Clean Water

Around 180,000 people in and around Jackson, Miss., are experiencing a massive breakdown of the city’s water system. The city’s pipes are either running dry or producing water that’s likely contaminated, leaving Jackson without any clean water. Jackson has been plagued with crumbling water infrastructure for decades, and the city first began receiving warnings from the Environmental Protection Agency in the 1970s, saying that the system needed repairs and improvements to avoid health hazards. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency on Aug. 30, and are working with Mayor Chokwe Lumumba to restore water to the city and look at long-term solutions for the long-term water crisis.

“It’s just kind of a Jackson joke. We always have a boil-water notice and there’s always something wrong with the treatment center,” Anna Lois Callan, a Jackson resident, tells TIME. “There’s even a gift shop in one of our art districts that sells mugs that say, ‘Jackson, Mississippi: Boil-Water Notice,’” Callan and other Jacksonians shared with us via interview what their lives are like now, detailing how this clean water shortage has impacted the community.

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