The U.S. EPA announced that it will provide $115 million to the City of Jackson, Mississippi to support critical drinking water infrastructure investments.
The funding comes from a $600 million Congressional appropriation as part of the 2023 Federal budget.
“These funds will help stabilize and rebuild the city’s water system and make significant strides to provide reliable water service to people’s homes, schools, and businesses,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “As I’ve said since the onset of this crisis, we will continue to stand with the people of Jackson and work to resolve this longstanding issue together.”
This initial $115 million award to the Jackson Public Water System will be used to stabilize and rebuild the city’s water infrastructure. These activities include identifying and fixing leaks in the distribution system, developing a system-wide assessment of valves and hydrants, ensuring adequate pumping capacity to maintain water pressure and distribution, and developing a system stabilization and sustainability plan.
“This is great news for the city of Jackson and our state,” said U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (MS). “Last year’s prolonged water crisis showed us the urgent need for drinking water infrastructure improvements, and I was glad to work with members of the Mississippi congressional delegation to secure emergency funding to help. With this first award, the City of Jackson will have the resources necessary to begin addressing many of the longstanding challenges with its water supply and help guard against future emergencies.”
EPA is using its emergency authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Section 1442(b) to award funding to the City of Jackson’s Public Water System. Section 1442(b) allows EPA to make grants to publicly owned water systems to assist in responding to and alleviating emergencies affecting public water systems that are determined to present substantial danger to the public health.
