Jackson's water emergency exposes a dilemma for Biden
Environment,Floods,Mississippi,Water And Oceans,Joe Biden,Inequality,Jackson Water Crisis,Federal State And Tribal Powers
The drinking water disaster in Jackson, Miss., injects new urgency into a looming challenge for President Joe Biden: delivering federal money to communities that need it most.
The problem is most acute for impoverished communities with large minority populations — those that Biden’s administration hopes to help with promises to steer money to places reeling from decades of pollution and inequity.
Torrential downpours shuttered Jackson’s long-ailing wastewater treatment plant this week, sparking a crisis that left more than 150,000 of the city’s 160,000 residents without drinking water. Mississippians and advocates in communities facing disproportionate pollution burdens said Democratic-controlled Jackson is merely the latest majority-Black city struggling to secure its fair share of spending in states that are dominated by Republicans.
The O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant has been at the center of a decades-long debate over which entity has responsibility for financing long-needed repairs. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said fixing the city’s water system could cost more than $1 billion.
The state’s Republican leaders have accused the city of mismanaging the facility, while Jackson officials have said few cities could afford the kinds of costly upgrades it requires using utility revenue and municipal funds alone. Still, some elected Democratic officials, such as Rep. Bennie Thompson, have also expressed some frustration with the city.
