Lack of clean water was a wicked problem citizens of the community in Jackson, Mississippi had to face for multiple days. This issue showed all six characteristics of a wicked problem: vague problem definition, undefined solution, no end point, irreversible, unique, and urgent. Like most things, this was a cause-and-effect situation but the effects left an irreversible mark in the community of Jackson, Mississippi. Youtube Video 

This issue all began in late July 2022. It started at Jackson’s Curtis Water Treatment Plant.  According to CNN, the water treatment plant pumps were damaged, causing them to use smaller backup pumps, which couldn’t maintain the original water flow. On August 9th the city of Jackson decided to pull the pumps offline, limiting how much water residents of Jackson, Mississippi received and also lowering the water pressure of the little to no water that they did receive. To add to the issue, a rainstorm flooded the Pearl River causing the storm water to mix with the natural water, then causing issues with treating the water and creating a chemical imbalance within the water pipes. The water plant is how residents of Jackson, Mississippi receive “clean water” with a chemical imbalance that makes it hard for residents to get clean water. 

Image from CNN “National Guard sergeants fill gallons for a resident at a public water distribution site last year after cold weather caused large numbers of water outages in Jackson, Mississippi. Rory Doyle/Reuters”.

According to CNN, the lack of resources and water issues affected all of Jackson’s communities, but 82.5% of that community is African American. Diversity and geographic location are the main factors that contribute to a vague problem definition. This highlights the fact that the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis is a wicked problem. There is a lack of resources due to the geographic location of the water crisis and the race of the residents that live there. The lack of resources and geographical location not only makes this a vague problem but also makes this matter urgent. Water is a resource needed to do simple life essentials such as showering, brushing, and even cooking. Not having those resources makes this water crisis urgent and harder for residents in lower income areas. Living in lower income areas already comes with a lack and struggle for resources, the water crisis just adds more trouble to the problem . 

150,000 citizens went without clean water. The first solution was being on a boil-water alert, which started a month before the event happened and only made matters worse. While facing this water issue, residents still had to pay a water bill every month, which was unjust and immoral because they were paying for something they weren’t fully receiving. Plus, for any water they did use or consume, they had to boil it before use, making this issue unique because not only did they have to go to extra lengths to use water they also had limited access to water. Organizations and stores came together and gave out cases of water bottles to residents of Jackson, but this wasn’t a solution for everyone. According to NPR many residents of Jackson didn’t have cars or were too far away from locations to get water, and when residents went to receive the water they had to stand in line for hours when they finally got to the front of the line all the water was gone and the store was out of stock, this highlights the second characteristics of a wicked problem undefined solution. Many solutions were created but one definite solution didn’t work for all the residents of Jackson, each solution had different factors that caused problems for residents. The government eventually called in the National Guard to help with disturbing water, but citizens still had to live in dreadful conditions. 

Image From CNN Quad Johnson, center, 24, from Jackson, carries packages of bottled water to cars at a water distribution site at Grove Park Community Center in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 31, 2022. Austin Steele/CNN.

The pipes and infrastructure were already old and aging, failing residents of Jackson, and this was an issue that had gone so far that it’s now irreversible and causing no endpoint to the wicked problem. Before the flooding of the Pearl River, the water plant also faced another issue with the water system.  To make matters worse and add to the wicked problem the citizens of Jackson also faced an e.Coli outbreak in their water infrastructure and now the pumps are damaged. Again this highlights one of the characteristics of a wicked problem, which would be having no endpoint, because no matter what, another problem always resurfaces. This matter was already serious but became more urgent when residents couldn’t shower, wash dishes, drink water, or flush their toilets. Essential things and aspects of life that are a crucial part of residents’ everyday lives become hard and impossible to do because of the lack of clean water. This problem became unique and urgent and started to affect residents’ health and living conditions. According to Journalist CNN  Theresa Waldrop, schools had to switch to virtual learning because the lack of water and water pressure affected the air conditioners, leaving the schools with no AC. With Jackson being a southern state and a hotter state that was a big issue for students and teachers of the Jackson, Mississippi school system. 

Most of Jackson’s areas are poor or poverty-stricken, making the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis more catastrophic. This issue is also expensive. According to the mayor of Jackson, it will cost two billion dollars to repair the pumps and pipes and to fix the issue. Even while repairing the pipes and the water system, it will still affect the everyday life of citizens in Jackson. The repairs will take years to fix and even while fixing they can cause more damage or make matters worse. Jackson. The Mississippi water crisis was a devastating crisis that affected residents mentally, emotionally, and physically. It’s just one of thousands of water equity issues in the world and it shows how water is such a fundamental part of human life and how not having it can affect your everyday life. 

Work Cited

Krishnakumar, Priya, and Christopher Hickey. “Tea leaves unread: Jackson’s water crisis follows years of economic decline.” CNN, 2 September 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/02/us/jackson-water-crisis-demographics-population-decline/index.html. Accessed 16 September 2024.

Waldrop, Theresa. “It’s been 5 days without reliable tap water for Jackson, Mississippi. Here’s what we know about the latest repairs – and how people are coping.” CNN, 2 September 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/02/us/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis-what-we-know/index.html. Accessed 16 September 2024.

Brown, Maya. “‘Water is a human right’: City of Jackson still in dire need of infrastructure help to fight water crisis.” CNN, 19 April 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/19/us/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis/index.html. Accessed 16 September 2024.

Breslow, Jason. “The Jackson, Mississippi water crisis follows years of systemic problems.” NPR, 31 August 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/1120166328/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis. Accessed 16 September 2024.