The head of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Sunday that it is too early to predict when a water treatment plant in Mississippi’s state capital of Jackson, which failed last week and left tens of thousands of people without clean tap water, will be repaired.
According to Deanne Criswell of CNN’s State of the Union, FEMA’s current priority is to ensure a supply of bottled drinking water while working with federal partners to determine what needs to be done to restore the plant to full operational capacity.
When asked when the plant might be fully operational again, Criswell, whose agency has been charged by President Joe Biden’s administration with coordinating disaster relief efforts for Mississippi, said, “I think it’s still too early to tell.”
“It’ll happen in stages,” she said after a visit to Jackson on Friday. “Right now, the focus is on getting bottled water out, but we are also providing temporary measures to help increase water pressure so that people can at least flush their toilets and use their faucets.”
“I think we have a lot more to learn about what it’s going to take to get that plant up and running in the long-term and mid-term about how long it’s going to take to actually make it safe to drink.”
Complications from recent floodwaters shut down Jackson’s O.B. Curtis Water Plant on Monday night, leaving most of the state capital without safe drinking water and highlighting the issue of America’s crumbling infrastructure, which Biden’s administration has promised to address.
Last week, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for Jackson and surrounding communities, warning the area’s 180,000 residents not to drink tap water.
Mississippi activated its National Guard on Tuesday to assist with water distribution, and Biden’s administration approved an emergency declaration and requested federal assistance to supplement the state’s response last week.
The crisis has hampered Jackson, forcing many businesses to close and forcing the public school system and Jackson State University to move classes online.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told ABC News that the city’s water infrastructure was deteriorating due to age and climate change.
He stated that while the city may have approved drinking water in days rather than weeks, ensuring a “reliable, sustainable” water treatment facility was “a much longer road ahead.”
 said on Sunday that it is too early to predict.){kind=link}