Jackson

 I have two sons who run water districts.  One for a small town in Louisiana, one for a large manufacturer in New Mexico.  They both know how to do the maintenance, run the tests, effect repairs, and keep water flowing to their customers.

There is nothing more vital to basic human civilization than access to clean water.  The Etruscans knew that, the Babylonians kew that, the Aztecs and Romans knew that. Access to clean water is the basis of human civilization and the most basic necessity of human life.

A successful government does not defer maintenance on a water system.  There is nothing more basic. Yet, the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi forgot that. Young, progressive, some say radical.  In his quest for social justice and equity, he forgot that clean water is a basic human need.  Under his watch, the water system has collapsed, unable to provide water.  They have no timeline for repairs.

This should be a cautionary tale to mayors everywhere.  Listen to your folks down at the water treatment plant.  Buy the pumps and the pipes and whatever else they need.  Everything else a mayor may want to do is secondary to providing clean water.