environmental science

The podcast discusses the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis. The largest water treatment plant failed in 2022, leaving 160,000 people without safe drinking water. There were funding issues and racism involved. Many residents still refuse to use the water due to contamination. The government is raising taxes to improve the infrastructure, but poverty and racial disparities complicate the situation. The cleanup efforts have not shown much progress, and the community is still suffering. Clean water is essential for hydration, cooking, hygiene, infrastructure, and plant growth. Wealthier residents have left, exacerbating the poverty problem. The crisis highlights the need for clean water for all communities. Hi, welcome back to our podcast on the rocks. I'm Robby. This is my co-host Sarah. And today we'll be talking about the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis. We have a special guest today from Jackson, Mississippi, who is first person experience with this issue. The Jackson, Mississippi water crisis started in 2022, when a treatment plant in Jackson, Mississippi stopped working. Okay, how are you doing, Sophie? Well, not the greatest. We are lacking water. So, you know, kind of about to die of dehydration. You're saying you're dehydrating? Like severely? You're exaggerating, right? Well, actually, Robby, on August 29, 2022, the largest water treatment plant in Jackson, Mississippi failed, leaving 160,000 people along with hospitals, fire stations, and schools without safe drinking water. In many cases, these communities had no water service at all. Now that I think of it, maybe she isn't exaggerating. That seems really bad. I heard that there was poor funding for clean water infrastructure, and there was a lot of racism. Yeah, I heard that too. As of 2023, many Jackson residents refused to use the city's water due to ongoing lead contamination and discoloration problems. In February 2023, documented evidence revealed that Jackson's homes not under a boil water advisory still had contaminated and discolored water. Well, this kind of incident tends to happen much more in cities where the majority of citizens are black or African American. For example, we've seen things like this happen in Flint, Michigan, or Benton Harbor, Michigan. This is especially evident when considering that these cities did not have a funding problem when their populations were predominantly white. Wow, that sounds really bad. Is there anything that the community can do to help you guys out? Well, the government there is raising the taxes on water by 40% to have better funding for infrastructure, but that's actually a little bit of a problem because 25% of the population there is living under the poverty line, and 82% is black. This is an issue with environmental justice, since other groups of people who are primarily black being denied things they have a right to, such as access to clean water. There are many laws and regulations to guarantee these things, and people just aren't getting them. Hey Sarah, what can you tell us about how the cleanup is going on the project? Well, so far there isn't really much change, but the government and the mayor are collaborating to try their best. The mayor said that since he first declared a state of emergency on August 30th, the state has invested nearly $14 million to prop up Jackson's healing water system, distribute water, and restore clean water to the residents of the city. Hopefully we see a change soon. Yeah, I mean, but from a citizen's point of view, despite all the money, there really hasn't been any change at all, even a year later. The crisis started August last year, and we really haven't seen much change. The water isn't trustable, and people are really scared. Wow. As you can see, this is a humongous environmental issue. The communities deserve to have clean water to drink and shower in, no matter the situation. Clean water is always a need, not a want. You're right, Sarah. Clean water is definitely a need. The need to stay hydrated is so incredibly important. Dehydration causes all kinds of sicknesses. It can cause indigestion. It causes chapped lips, which are really painful. It can even cause your immune system to fail. I think that's really important to have clean water. Yeah, you also need water to cook with. You use it a lot in your everyday life, even if you don't realize it. A lot of what you eat has needed water to help repair it in some way. You also need clean water to keep the infrastructure working. If there is very dirty or lead water running through the pipes, they're not going to stay very intact. There's also dental hygiene. If you have bad water getting onto what you're literally putting in your mouth, aside from drinking, that can also cause you to absorb lead, like through the skin on the inside of your mouth, and that can be very dangerous. Not to mention physical cleanliness, things like showers and baths. If you're coming into contact with all of that water that is contaminated, that can be super not very good for you. Last but certainly not least, growing plants. We don't want our plants to die, would we? Sophie, what can you tell us about before and after the crisis, and who's still living in Jackson, Mississippi? Well, the white site is a big part of the crisis. The wealthier often white residents moved away from Jackson, Mississippi as soon as it began. These are people with more money using more water. The more people who move away, the higher the percentage of people who live under the poverty line, and the harder it gets to fix the problem. Yeah, that makes sense. That's all the time we had for the podcast today. Thank you for listening. Stay happy, stay cool, and stay in school.