Jackson Residents Enter a Month without Clean Water

In late August 2022, heavy rainfall in central Mississippi caused the Pearl River and Ross Barnett Reservoir to rise to dangerously high flood levels. As a result, one of the two water-treatment plants for Jackson, Miss. that receives water from the reservoir was shut down. The O.B. Curtis Water Plant's failure left over 150,000 residents of Jackson without clean drinking water and low to no water pressure. Numerous schools and businesses temporarily closed and opted for virtual operations while the city was placed under a state of emergency.