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Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

reuters.com

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Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#41

Post by AlotOfReading »

mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #40
AlotOfReading wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Irrigation agriculture has been a primary source of life in places like Arizona for millennia. Reducing it down to "irrigation is unsustainable" is both incorrect and unproductive. It can be made sustainable, as long as we understand the system and respect appropriate limits within that. It's likely those changes will need to be larger than anyone wants, but they're still possible in a less dramatic way than "everyon…

> It can be made sustainable, as long as we understand the system and respect appropriate limits within that. I think this illustrates that its sustainable on paper but the current sets of humans using the Colorado river water aren't using it sustainably though when its all added up. We can get pedantic about it but something has to change, right?

I don't think there's any disagreement that things have to change. The difference is whether we're talking about negotiating a difficult balance of competing interests within reasonable limits, or engaging in a political knife fight to decide who gets all the remaining water.

We need to make a conscious decision to recognize a balance is possible though and negotiate it. If we don't, the situation eventually devolves into the knife fight regardless.

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#42

Post by LinuxBender »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #30
LinuxBender wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might give this a shot. I've used them on wells and they are great for sediment. I wasn't sure if it would work the same with the moss but if it works that would save me from using the tank pellets.

If you have control over where your water supply is within the lake, and you're up for it, I recommend introducing lily pads, cattails, or watercress in the vicinity. Those flora will absorb the nutrients algae requires to grow, inhibiting its growth. Non uniform foreign debris near water intakes is just an overall pain :/

Unfortunately I don't. The lake is in national forest and it also powers a small hydroelectric dam.

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#44

Post by greenie_beans »

kurupt213 wrote: post #21
stodor89 wrote: post #7

2022, USA, 100k+ town with no drinking water. Indefinitely. We've truly peaked as a civilization.

indefinitely is a bit extreme. it should say "until pumps are fixed and service is restored"

they've been on a boil water notice since july

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#45

Post by greenie_beans »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #25
ArekDymalski wrote: post #20

Woah, Paolo Bacigalupi wrote "Water knife" only 7 years ago and I thought it depicts a scenario our grandkids will face. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Water_Knife

Mississippi is not in drought. At least not drought of water.

you're right that this isn't a problem of drought. it's a problem of infrastructure, money, and power. but north mississippi is in a drought. jackson isn't in north mississippi

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#46

Post by Noumenon72 »

syntaxing wrote: post #8

Shouldn’t the army corp step it at some point? Shouldn’t the military be able to fly in some pumps if really needed?

"Should" implies it's their responsibility, making them the National Bureau in Charge of Municipal Water Supply. It would be nice if they could, but they can't do it for everyone.

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#47

Post by aaroninsf »

ArekDymalski wrote: post #20

Woah, Paolo Bacigalupi wrote "Water knife" only 7 years ago and I thought it depicts a scenario our grandkids will face. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Water_Knife

Its future is already becoming reality in the watershed of the over-subscribed Colorado.

2022 is a remarkable year, one of a striking tipping point: in which a large number of climate change cautionary tales moved from speculative to the front page.

As with the rapid evolution of AI txt2image tools, the notable stories, milestones, data points, are coming too quickly to keep up with.

Jackson has its own specific problems, and they aren't drought-specific as others noted ITT;

but the story is nonetheless a useful addition to the growing list of examples of where our institutional and structural response to ecological and climatological challengs is grotesquely inadequate.

As in Kim Stanley Robinson's fantasies, hope seems to lie in something which today seems as unlikely as our current headlines did a few years ago: an intervention of some kind which puts actual decision-making power in the hands of policy makers and scientists who understand what is happening and the scale of response required to ride it out as a civilization.

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#48

Post by greenie_beans »

bequanna wrote: post #31
davak wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mayor has been begging* for funds from the state for a long time now to fix the problem though. That being said, I'm sure there is lots of local and state mismanagement that would go into causing such an embarrassment. * https://www.wlbt.com/2022/02/17/jackson-faces-uphill-battle-...

So, instead of an appropriate local bonding ballot initiative (or whatever) to fund this like every other city does, they just throw up their hands and ask for state handouts? Maybe they are worried about the political implications of rising property taxes or water bills? Seems like a HUGE failure by an inept local government.

do you know anything about jackson's local government, local tax base, the dynamics of power, the surrounding wealthy suburbs, or the extent of how much a repair like this would cost?

here's a primer: - https://mississippitoday.org/2021/11/08/jackson-water-crisis... - https://mississippitoday.org/2021/03/24/why-jacksons-water-s... - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/a-mississippi-citys-...

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#49

Post by kurupt213 »

bdcravens wrote: post #29
kurupt213 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

indefinitely is a bit extreme. it should say "until pumps are fixed and service is restored"

Indefinitely != infinitely. It just means they do not know how long it will take.

But there is a nuance to the message that is disingenuous. Diction and imagery. This isn’t a legal contract, it doesn’t matter if it is ‘technically true.’

Re: Jackson, Mississippi, to go without reliable drinking water indefinitely

#50

Post by toomuchtodo »

LinuxBender wrote: post #42
toomuchtodo wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have control over where your water supply is within the lake, and you're up for it, I recommend introducing lily pads, cattails, or watercress in the vicinity. Those flora will absorb the nutrients algae requires to grow, inhibiting its growth. Non uniform foreign debris near water intakes is just an overall pain :/

Unfortunately I don't. The lake is in national forest and it also powers a small hydroelectric dam.

Sounds absolutely lovely. Enjoy!
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