Mayor Jackson Chokwe Lumumba: “It’s not a question of if these systems will fail again, it’s a question of when.”

After almost seven weeks of emergency water treatment issues In Jackson, Mississippi, the city’s boiling water notice was lifted on Thursday.

online statement The city government has lifted the notice and said, “Water pressure must be stable throughout the city.”

The city’s website also acknowledges the support and attention this crisis has brought outside the capital. “We hope that recent state and federal attention to this issue will lead to resources that residents expect and certainly deserve,” he said. website read.

ESSENCE spoke with Mayor Chokwe Lumumba before an update was released on the city of Jackson, Mississippi’s water treatment system. Temporary measures have been put in place to deal with periodic low water pressure and water treatment failures, but Lumumba believes the majority black city will have to invest heavily to fix permanent problems. made clear that it was necessary.

“We were here before the pressure went down. There was a boiling water notification,” Lumumba said. And we’ve been here before where we’ve restored pressure and ended boiling water notices. Unless, it’s not a question of if these systems will fail again, it’s a question of when they will fail again. That’s my biggest concern. “

Check out the interview details in the video above.