Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, lamented that the city “failed to protect us” after filing suit over a failing water plant contaminating the city’s water supply.
Raine Becker, one of four named plaintiffs suing the city over its response to the water crisis, said she felt the city was more “reactive” than “proactive” when it came to handling the water problems, according to ABC News.
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“I feel like they were reactive instead of proactive,” Becker said. “The second they knew there was a problem, the second they knew there was an issue whether it was with the plant or the pipes, they should have looked into fixing it then, and they didn’t, and they failed to protect us.”
Becker, mother to a terminally ill 7-year-old child, said she was hit personally and professionally by the crisis. Her son Shyler has to be fed through a feeding tube that requires sanitary water to clean it.
“If I had been flushing with the water we were given through the tap, we might be in a whole different predicament right now. Like that would hospitalize him, potentially kill him,” she said. “It’s important and imperative that we have clean, safe water. I mean for everybody, not just because I have a sick child. This is a human right.”
Shyler was born with a heart defect and has a terminal liver disease, according to Becker.
Severe rainstorms last month caused flooding along the Pearl River, contaminating a reservoir with raw water. When the system started to stall due to the raw water, it could not replenish the water towers fast enough. This caused a major drop in water pressure and allowed untreated groundwater to enter the pipes.
The state lifted its boil water advisory for Jackson residents on Sept. 15, nearly two weeks after water pressure returned to normal.
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The residents are seeking damages and relief, including regular water testing, removal of contaminated pipes, cancellation of bills and debts for contaminated or undelivered water, and community health centers for those affected by contaminated water, according to the lawsuit filed Saturday.
The City of Jackson, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba (D), former Mayor Tony Yarber, former Public Works directors Kishia Powell, Robert Miller, and Jerriot Smash, Siemens Corporation, Siemens Industry, and Trilogy Engineering Services are listed as defendants.
