JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The water strain at James Brown’s house in Jackson was so low the taps barely dripped. He couldn’t prepare dinner. He couldn’t bathe. However he nonetheless needed to work.

The 73-year-old tree-cutter hauled luggage of ice into his truck at a gasoline station on his approach to a job Wednesday after a number of days with out water.

“What can I do? I’m only a pawn in a chess sport,” he mentioned throughout considered one of a number of journeys to and from the shop. “All I’ve bought to do is simply try to stay.”

Folks waited in strains for water to drink, bathe, prepare dinner and flush bathrooms Wednesday in Mississippi’s capital. Town water system partially failed early this week after Pearl River flooding exacerbated longstanding issues in considered one of two water-treatment crops.

President Joe Biden late Tuesday accepted an emergency declaration for the state of Mississippi. On Wednesday, he referred to as Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba to debate response efforts, together with help from the Federal Emergency Administration Company, the Environmental Safety Company and the Military Corps of Engineers. The mayor additionally mentioned he had a separate phone dialog with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Past addressing the fast disaster, Biden mentioned he desires to offer federal help for the long-term effort to rebuild Jackson’s ageing water infrastructure, which has been unreliable for years.

Lumumba mentioned Jackson’s water system is troubled by brief staffing and “many years of deferred upkeep.” He mentioned the inflow of water from torrential rain modified the chemical composition wanted for therapy, which slowed the method of pushing water out to clients.

A metropolis information launch mentioned the primary water-treatment plant had “challenges with water chemistry” Wednesday, which led to a drop in output of water. That brought about depletion of water tanks and a pointy lower in water strain.

Even earlier than the service disruption, Jackson’s 150,000 residents had been boiling their ingesting water for the previous month as a result of officers mentioned it might trigger digestive issues.

Brown mentioned Wednesday that he’d stopped on the grocery retailer to purchase 4 instances of water earlier than selecting up the ice. A lifelong Jackson resident, he mentioned folks there have been residing with out entry to constant water for years — even when there may be strain, residents usually must boil it to drink and prepare dinner.

A chilly snap in 2021 left tens of 1000’s of individuals with out operating water after pipes froze. Comparable issues occurred once more early this yr, on a smaller scale.

“It’s going to get proper sooner or later,” Brown mentioned. “When, I don’t know.”

Like many cities, Jackson faces water system issues it could’t afford to repair. Its tax base has eroded the previous few many years because the inhabitants decreased — the results of principally white flight to suburbs that started after public faculties built-in in 1970. Town’s inhabitants is now greater than 80% Black, with about 25% of its residents residing in poverty.

Lumumba mentioned Tuesday that fixing Jackson’s water system might run to “fairly probably the billions of {dollars}.” Mississippi is receiving $75 million to handle water issues as a part of a bipartisan infrastructure invoice. Jackson is receiving about $31 million by way of the EPA’s revolving mortgage funds for therapy and distribution system enhancements.

Throughout a Wednesday information convention, White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned the EPA is deploying personnel to Jackson for an emergency evaluation of the therapy crops and to streamline the supply of restore gear. FEMA has personnel on the state emergency operations middle and is coordinating with the state emergency administration staff to establish wants, she mentioned.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency for Jackson’s water system Tuesday. The state will attempt to assist resolve issues by hiring contractors to work on the O.B. Curtis water therapy plant — the ability on the root of Jackson’s water woes. The plant was working at diminished capability with backup pumps after the primary pumps failed “a while in the past,” Reeves mentioned.

In a video posted to Twitter, the Mississippi Emergency Administration Company mentioned an emergency rental pump had been put in Wednesday on the O.B. Curtis. Damaged pumps on the plant resulted in decreased water strain and a few outages.

In a information convention Wednesday, Lumumba mentioned metropolis officers anticipated water strain to begin growing later within the night.

Bobbie Fairley, who has lived in Jackson her total life, owns Magic Arms Hair design in south Jackson. The 59-year-old mentioned she needed to cancel 5 appointments Wednesday as a result of she wants excessive water strain to scrub chemical substances out of hair throughout therapies.

She has needed to buy water to shampoo hair to strive slot in no matter appointments she will. When shoppers aren’t coming in, she’s shedding cash.

“That’s a giant burden,” she mentioned. “I can’t afford that. I can’t afford that in any respect.”

Jackson State College had to usher in non permanent restrooms for college kids and was ready on the supply of moveable showers Wednesday, President Thomas Hudson mentioned.

Hudson mentioned town’s water points have been an ongoing problem for the traditionally Black college because it has labored to draw college students.

“It does make it troublesome by way of what we’re attempting to do, our core mission, which is training,” Hudson mentioned.

He mentioned the college is beginning work on a plan for a standalone water provide system utilizing a few of the federal funding made obtainable to traditionally Black schools and universities.

Shannon Wilson, whose daughter simply began her sophomore yr at Jackson State, mentioned her daughter’s dorm regained some strain, however the water popping out is brown. Her daughter left to stick with a good friend off campus. However Wilson, who lives in St. Louis, can’t assist however fear about her.

“We’re feeling helpless,” Wilson mentioned. “Being over 500 miles away from Jackson, there may be nothing I can do however fear.”

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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Related Press/Report for America Statehouse Information Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide service program that locations journalists in native newsrooms to report on undercovered points. Observe him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg.

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AP White Home correspondent Josh Boak contributed to this report.