Jackson Water Crisis
CLEAN WATER FOR ALL.
Mississippi receives far more in federal government support than it distributes to its cities – and those funds rarely reach the populations that need them most.
Jackson's first responders and patients need clean water to stay healthy. Students need clean water to learn. Local businesses need clean water to serve. And everyone deserves access to consistent, affordable, clean water.
Sign the petition to tell Governor Tate Reeves to allocate federal funds where they're supposed to go – to Jackson, to repair a water system so broken by decades of systemic disinvestment that it now requires $2 billion in fixes to provide clean water.
The Issue
For the last two months, Jackson residents have boiled their tap water in order for them to drink, clean, or bathe, and just weeks ago, many had their access to tap water completely shut off - while delivering water full of dirt and sediment into the homes of this majority-Black city.
Now, instead of focusing on fixing Jackson's aging, neglected water system and delegating the federal funds needed, Governor Tate Reeves is eyeing a state takeover of the water system.
The state should stop all efforts to sabotage the local management of Jackson's water system. We have seen this pattern before – leading to the privatization of public resources - and we will not stand for it.
Take Your Advocacy Further
This crisis is manmade — and preventable. The state of Mississippi has not stepped up to ensure the basic needs of its residents are met. It's time for us to take matters in our own hands and advocate for the residents of Jackson, MS.
Watch the Hearing
Advocating for Jackson Residents
For too long, the city of Jackson has been historically disadvantaged due to targeted neglect from politicians. As the state attempts to move forward with its Intended Use Plan for federal funds, we're demanding that the City Jackson continues to control its own water and that the state prioritize the city for much-needed infrastructure funding.
Advocacy in Action - Jackson, MS
Water crisis in Jackson, Miss., raises concerns about environmental racism
The Jackson crisis is part of "the conversations about how Black communities are deprioritized when it comes to ensuring that there's infrastructure planning, ensuring there is resiliency built within the communities," said Abre' Conner, director of environmental and climate justice at the NAACP.
The water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, has gotten so bad, the city temporarily ran out of bottled water to give to residents
Running water could not be guaranteed by city officials, since the water pressure had dropped throughout the entire water system. The failure of the main water treatment plant in Jackson, Mississippi, means 180,000 people in the capital city and its surrounding areas will be without reliable drinking water for the foreseeable future.
Residents Without Safe Drinking Water in Jackson, Mississippi After Flooding, Treatment Plant Failure
President of the NAACP Derrick Johnson addressed Governor Reeves on Twitter. "We demand on behalf of the Jackson communities that you request federal aid from @FEMA and other agencies to ensure people have access to a basic human right: WATER," read Johnson's tweet.
When children in a predominantly Black city are without in-person schooling & Black folks are without a plan for drinking water in a state capital, this is why environmental justice is a racial justice issue. Infrastructure funding needs to be prioritized in places like Jackson.
- Abre Conner, Director, Environmental and Climate Justice
