WEBVTT

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- At the end of this past
August there was water

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all over the ground after torrential rains

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in Jackson, Mississippi.

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But for a lot of residents,
there was nothing to drink.

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The heavy rainfall caused the
local Pearl river to flood.

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This changed water pressure
at a local treatment plant

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and turned off the tap
for over 180,000 people.

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Households did not have
enough water to cook, clean,

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wash up or even flush their toilets.

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Water pickup stations were
set up throughout Jackson

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with residents queuing hours

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to receive their crates of water.

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Workers at the water
treatment plant toiled

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to bring back water pressure.

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And now, many households actually do have

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some running water again.

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But it isn't the safest to
drink or even use for cleaning

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if it is not boiled first.

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And this is not the first time local water

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hasn't been safe for use.

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Back in July, Jackson was under

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a water boiling advisory
for several weeks,

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When the health department
found cloudy water

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that could cause health
issues in the drinking supply.

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And back in 2020, Jackson
failed an EPA inspection

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when the agency discovered
that the local water

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could harbor dangerous
bacteria and even parasites.

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It's sad to say that
residents are not faring

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any better this year.

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Locals are posting photos and videos

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of the murky water that's
coming out of the tap.

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Some are showing this kind
of like yellowish water,

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Other people are showing
straight up dark murky water

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that's coming out of the sinks.

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Jackson is just one city in
a long list of majority BIPOC

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and especially majority Black
American cities that struggle

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with access to clean water.

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I'm sure a lot of you
remember Flint, Michigan.

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Their issue started back in
2014 when officials switched

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water sources to save money
and in turn they exposed

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residents to lead and
other dangerous pollutants

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through the water.

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And in 2016, Newark New Jersey
saw elevated lead levels

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in their drinking water too.

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It took years to replace the lead pipes

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in many of the Newark homes.

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Extreme weather is on the rise.

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That means more record rainfall

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and flooding in some parts of the US

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and that is something that
a lot of our sewer systems

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and water treatment systems
are not equipped to handle yet.

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So without ensuring that these
treatment plants are updated,

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residents are only going to deal

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with more water issues in the near future.

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Thanks for watching Extreme Earth.

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We're so sorry that we have to constantly

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remind you about all of this.