A deadly arctic explosion that hit the United States starting last week has left the country’s Deep South region struggling with the scourge of burst pipes, threatening leaks that could spill millions of liters of water.
The situation has resulted in residents of cities such as Jackson, Mississippi, which have been affected by a water crisis for a long time, drinking boiling water over the Christmas holidays and into Monday.
In the southern USA, where long freezing temperatures are less common than in other parts of the country, water pipes are more likely to be found in uninsulated areas.
And since temperatures across the region have been at or below 0 °C (32 F) since Friday, the water in some of these pipes has frozen and expanded, creating pressure that causes leaks and bursts.
Dozens of cities in the region issued advice on how to boil water or warned of major disasters if no leaks were found in the broken pipes and the water was shut off.
“It’s death through a thousand cuts,” Mike Saia, water system spokesperson for the city of Charleston, South Carolina, told WCSC-TV.
Charleston had almost record low temperatures on Christmas Eve, and the wind chill made the air feel even colder. Over the holiday weekend, the Charleston Water System reported an output of approximately 380 million liters (100 million gallons) — up from 190 million liters (50 million gallons) on a typical winter day.
Officials believe the increase was due to leaks. More than 400 water customers reported pipe bursts and many other leaks in empty offices, houses and other buildings that are vacant during the holidays.
Broken pipes can cause the water system to lose pressure, and repaired pipes must be disinfected before they can be used again. Officials in Charleston warned of the possibility of a notice about boiling water, which is rare in the city.
The cool weather exacerbated an existing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, the state’s capital and most populous city. On Christmas Day, the loss of water pressure led to a citywide recommendation to boil water, which has yet to be rescinded.
“Please check your stores and churches for leaks and broken pipes, as they add up tremendously and only exacerbate the problem,” the city said in a statement, adding, “We understand that the timing is terrible.”
In the days before the freeze, the US Congress passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill, which earmarked $600 million to repair the city’s struggling water supply. This is in addition to the $35.6 million that the state is offering under the American Rescue Plan Act on the condition that the city provides the funding.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba estimates that the repairs will require $1 billion or more.
The city, where more than 82 percent of residents are black people and a quarter live in poverty, has been suffering from chronic water problems for years, including lead contamination and sewage overflow into the nearby Pearl River. An earlier frost in February 2021 left tens of thousands without running water.
But in July, the state mandated a boil water recommendation for Jackson residents after officials found that the water supply was “above standard.” The city associated cloudiness with an “increased probability that water contains disease-causing organisms,” which are responsible for nausea and diarrhea.
Then, in August, heavy rains caused flooding on the Pearl River, causing residents to lose water pressure. Without running water, many had to queue up at distribution points to procure water for their daily needs, such as drinking, cooking, bathing and flushing toilets.
Even after the water pressure was restored, the city, which is home to almost 150,000 inhabitants, was still recommended to boil water until mid-September.
On Friday, the National Weather Service in Jackson warned of the extreme cold and wrote on Twitter that the city set a record for the second coldest temperature in its history in 1963 at -4 °C (25 F).
Lumumba, the mayor, had also described the water distribution system as a “major security flaw,” which is falling into a cold snap. “We’ll prepare for the worst but pray for the best,” he said in a statement last week.
In other parts of the region, some residents of Shreveport, Louisiana, are also without water.
And in Selma, Alabama, Mayor James Perkins Jr. warned on Facebook that if the leaks were not isolated, “there is a real possibility that we could run out of water.” He declared a local emergency, although city officials later reported that the water system had stabilized.
Workers at the Harvest Hope food bank in Greenville, South Carolina, meanwhile opened their doors Monday morning to find that the plant was spraying water through broken pipes.
“As soon as we opened the doors, we were literally met by a tidal wave,” spokesperson Chad Scott told local news station WYFF.
The food bank, one of the largest in the state, had to turn people away to respond to the situation. Officials estimated that more than $1 million worth of food could be lost.