How Jackson, Mississippi, ran out of water

Jackson, Mississippi, faces a water supply emergency; Ukraine tries to take back the Russian-held city of Kherson.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Mississippi capital declares a water supply emergency

Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

• The Mississippi health department declared a water supply emergency for Jackson on Tuesday as the city’s treatment plant failed. [Mississippi Today / Alex Rozier]
• Officials warned the capital city’s 150,000 residents not to drink or use tap water without boiling it first. Water is expected to stop flowing through pipes soon; the city and state have begun distributing alternative sources of water. [Washington Post / Bryan Pietsch].
• Jackson’s had trouble with its water system for years, due to poorly maintained, ancient infrastructure. That’s led to water with high lead and bacteria content. [Clarion Ledger / Lee O. Sanderlin]
• The problem escalated following a 2021 winter storm that burst pipes and led to a shutdown; it grew even worse this summer when damage forced Jackson’s aging main treatment plant to run on backup pumps. Then, the water supply was further contaminated by the nearby Pearl River overflowing last week. [CNN / Amir Vera, Jason Hanna, and Nouran Salahieh]
• That means even more Jackson residents than usual cannot shower or brush their teeth without exposure to harmful bacteria, and the city lacks enough water to fight fires. Public schools are closed until the crisis is resolved. [Associated Press / Emily Wagster Pettus and Michael Goldberg]
• It’s unclear when Jackson’s water situation will improve; in 2021, Jackson’s mayor said the city needed $2 billion to fix its water infrastructure. [Brookings / Andre M. Perry, Joseph W. Kane, and Carl Romer]

📍 Go deeper

Vox's Li Zhou explains how the bipartisan infrastructure bill can help millions of Americans without drinkable water.  [Vox / Li Zhou]

Ukraine battles Russia for Kherson

• Ukraine launched a military offensive against Russian forces in the southern Kherson region on Monday. [Washington Post / Mary Ilyushina and Annabelle Timsit]
• Its military claimed Ukrainian troops broke Russia’s first line of defense on Tuesday; Moscow claims it rebuffed Ukraine’s assault. Experts say retaking Kherson could take months. [BBC / Yaroslav Lukov]
• The strategically important port city of 300,000 was the first major city Russians captured after invading Ukraine six months ago. [AP / Paul Byrne]
• Meanwhile, international nuclear experts are in Ukraine to assess the risks of continued shelling at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. [New York Times / Andrew E. Kramer]

The expanded child tax credit kept as many as 4 million kids out of poverty. Advocates hope it could return as an end-of-the-year compromise. [Vox / Rachel Cohen]

• Republicans are preparing to try to impeach President Joe Biden if they take control of the House in November’s midterm elections. [The Hill / Mike Lillis]
• On Tuesday, Australian Chris Dawson was found guilty of murdering his wife, ending a decades-long cold case that was the subject of a popular podcast. [CNN / Hilary Whiteman]
• Tony Ornato retired from the Secret Service months after explosive testimony named him as a primary witness of former President Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021. [Guardian / Ed Pilkington]

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“I have said on multiple occasions that it’s not a matter of ‘if’ our system would fail, but a matter of ‘when’ our system would fail.”

[Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba on the water crisis / CNN]

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