Mississippi capital city struggles with aging water system

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s capital city struggles with an unreliable water system that has problems with both quality and distribution. That can make life difficult for residents and businesses. Hair salon owner Belinda Smith says she keeps jugs of water in her shop because it’s not unusual for the city to cut off her water service without notice when crews have to repair broken lines. Jackson has longstanding, expensive-to-fix problems with its aging water system. The EPA issued a notice this week that the system violates the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The city has 45 days to outline a plan to “correct the significant deficiencies.”