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• 1 2022-12-05T19:50:59-08:00 Current Status of the Crisis 6 plain 2022-12-12T08:38:43-08:00 As of November 2022, the city has been in talks with both the federal government and the EPA about long term plans for the water system, though the details of those talks have been protected under confidential agreements between city officials and the different entities. In early November, the city approved a contract with the California company Water Talent LLC to bring 4 operators to work on the Jackson water system until February 2023 and the operators began working on November 15^th. In response, Governor Reeves has decided that the state of emergency over Jackson would expire on November 22, 2022, at which point the city would once again have full control over the management of the water system. The future of the water system remains unclear for residents. As the winter months approach, many worry about the chance that a winter storm causing yet another water crisis similar to what happened in the winter of 2021. Mayor Lumumba has stated that its likely that a “third party administrator” outside of city control will be in charge of managing projects and allocating federal funds for the water system, but that this will only be temporary.
  
  Various historical processes have contributed to the disinvestment of Jackson and its water system and it will likely take years before all the issues with the system are addressed. However, the fragility of the system means that residents are consistently at risk of not having reliable access to clean water and therefore long-term solutions need to be developed sooner rather than later. An understanding of environmental racism helps us see the underlying social and economic forces that contributed to the systems decline and to the disregard Jackson residents have faced over the years. It also suggests that any solution to the problem would need to grapple with this history and center the concerns and interests of Jackson residents.