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| Photo Credit: AP. |
JACKSON, Miss (AP) — While its water crisis continued, students in Mississippi’s capital were able to return to class for the first time in a week Tuesday with assurances that the toilets and sinks in their buildings would finally work.
Jackson
remained under a boil water advisory, but the drop in water pressure that had
brought the system to near collapse appeared to be resolved, officials said.
Sherwin
Johnson, a spokesperson for Jackson Public Schools, confirmed in a statement to
The Associated Press on Tuesday that schools had re-opened after a drop in
water pressure forced a move to virtual instruction.
A line of
cars snaked around the block in front of Spann Elementary in northeast Jackson
as parents arrived to pick up their children. Syreeta Tatum waited for her
fourth grader to emerge from the building and lamented the uncertainty
Jackson’s water woes had foisted upon parents and students.
“It was very
frustrating,” said Tatum. “As a mother, you want to make sure your child is
getting the best education possible, especially knowing that my child functions
better in person.”
In a
statement posted to Twitter on Monday, the school district said it had “checked
water pressure at each school” and found that “nearly all are suitable” for
students and staff to return. Air conditioning systems at several schools
depend on the water system to run effectively. The district said it anticipated
delays in cooling buildings as temperatures reached the mid-80s on Tuesday.
“We are continuing to monitor and have
portable fans and air conditioners to reduce temperatures in warm or hot
areas,” Johnson said.
Torrential
rains and flooding of the Pearl River in late August exacerbated problems at
one of Jackson’s two treatment plants, leading to a drop in pressure throughout
the city. The school district said Forest Hill High School in south Jackson
still didn’t have water pressure. Johnson said students who attend Forest Hill
were transported to alternative sites Tuesday.
In a Tuesday
news conference, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the water storage that
was built over the weekend has decreased some over the past 24 hours.
“The safety
net that has been built up has decreased and has diminished,” Lumumba said.
“That is why we’re prayerful that everything remains consistent.”
If a
challenge arises with plant operation Tuesday, it will likely impact customers,
the mayor said.
In a Monday
news conference, Gov. Tates Reeves said water distribution at schools would be
scaled down in preparation for students’ return to campuses.
“We are
moving those resources to our other water distribution mega-sites,” Reeves
said. “Those sites have slowed down in demand a bit, but we have still put out
about 5 million bottles of water over the last several days.”
Soon after
water stopped flowing through the pipes of many households throughout Jackson,
officials rolled a tanker into Forest Hill’s parking lot for water
distribution. Santiago Matthews, a maintenance worker for the high school, had
a garbage container filled to the brim with water last week to fill toilets for
the staff working inside. He hauled the garbage container up a short incline
back to the high school with water sloshing over the sides.
Reeves said
Monday that the city had “zero water tanks at low levels.” He also said repairs
resulting in cleaner water do not eliminate every risk.
“There may
be more bad days in the future,” Reeves said.
Liz Oviede,
a student at Delta Technical College, picked up her 10-year old brother Tuesday
so her mother wouldn’t have to miss work. Her mother missed work at least three
days last week to supervise the boy as Spann shifted to virtual learning.
Recounting a recent weekend trip to Houston, Texas, she longed for cleaner
water.
“My face
cleared up, my hair was so much softer and my hair is always so crunchy here
and it doesn’t feel clean,” Oviede said. “I just wish they’d get it together
and stop bringing politics into it.”
Michael
Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America
Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service
program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered
issues. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg.