‘I feel forgotten’: Jackson residents living with steady stream of sewage
While Jackson's water crisis continues
By Gracyn Gordon
Click here for updates on this story
JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — While Jackson’s water crisis continues, some residents are also struggling with raw sewage backing into their homes, yards and down their streets.
One resident on Cooper Road is dealing with the smell of sewage outside his front door. The stream of sewage continues all the way down into the woods, making its way toward a neighborhood. The resident said he’s moved out entirely now.
He said the problem began at the end of July. The city came out to inspect the issue, but only put up a sign alerting neighbors of raw sewage and cautioning them to stay away from it.
Across the city, a manhole is overflowing with sewage on Northside Drive. Neighbors at both locations said they’ve called the city countless times.
“I feel forgotten,” said resident Rose Hamilton. “It’s just puzzling that it’s running and there’s not so much as traffic cones out here yet. Nothing here just marking that it’s happening.”
Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks said the city is short on the trucks that are used to clean out sewer lines and manholes.
“I don’t think, from what I see, that we have enough trucks,” Banks said. “I mean, enough trucks is to have at least one in each ward, and we’re not to that capacity. When you’ve got two or three trucks trying to service the whole city, it’s not going to be able to happen.”
On Cooper Road, the city is working to determine if the overflow is a city or a resident issue. On Northside Drive, neighbors were told a crew will be out in the next few days.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
