Mississippi declares drinking water emergency for state capital

Mississippi officials declared a health emergency after historic flooding damaged treatment systems and left 180,000 people in the state capital Jackson without safe drinking water.

Governor Tate Reeves warned residents about the crisis and deployed the National Guard to assist in water distribution throughout the city.

The Mississippi State Department of Health said water treatment pumps had failed and there were low levels of water in storage tanks serving Jackson.

Many city taps were dry, and water that was flowing was contaminated or untreated, officials cautioned.

"We do not have reliable running water at scale," Reeves told a press conference.

"The city cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to reliably flush toilets and to meet other critical needs," he said, adding emergency services would distribute drinking water to residents in a "massively complicated logistical task."

Facing ageing infrastructure, Jackson has been under a boil water order since late July.

Recent torrential rains intensified the crisis as the city's Pearl River has faced historic flooding, which finally started to ease next week, Jackson City Hall said in a statement.

According to the MSDH, water treatment plants in Jackson do not have sufficient maintenance staff or certified operators to safely run the system, leading to potential for contamination from dangerous organisms such as E.Coli and Giardia.

Reeves urged residents to avoid the water coming out of their faucets.