Justice Department strikes temporary deal to fix Jackson, Mississippi's troubled water system

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The United States Department of Justice filed a complaint in court and struck a temporary deal with the city of Jackson, Mississippi on Tuesday to address the water crisis facing its residents. Treatment facility failures and low pressure left hundreds of thousands of people without safe drinking water over the summer. A boil notice was issued on July 29th and lifted on September 15th.

“Today the Justice Department is taking action in federal court to address long-standing failures in the city of Jackson’s public drinking water system,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said. “The Department of Justice takes seriously its responsibility to keep the American people safe and to protect their civil rights. Together with our partners at EPA, we will continue to seek justice for the residents of Jackson, Mississippi. And we will continue to prioritize cases in the communities most burdened by environmental harm.”

The Justice Department explained in a statement that an "Interim Third Party Manager" would be appointed to oversee four key measures:

READ MORE: The Jackson water crisis is being used as an excuse to privatize the water system. That's a bad idea

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