Jackson Water Crisis: Tanker Not Supplying Water To Gov. Reeves' Mansion

Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have been going through a running water crisis since Monday after the city's water treatment facility failed following severe flooding last week.

The National Guard was activated to bring relief to residents after Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency in the capital city. Water trucks were brought in to help mitigate the crisis. In the midst of the chaos, a water truck parked outside the governor's mansion created a furor among residents.

Reeves' name was trending on Twitter after a video showed a truck parked outside his home. The video received more than 289,600 views at the time of this writing. The truck, which appeared to have been brought in for supplying water to Reeves' home, had caused outrage among residents. Many of them took to social media to express resentment.

Reeves' communications director, Hunter Estes, has now clarified that the truck had nothing to do with the governor's home.

"The governor's mansion gets its water from the Jackson water system. Many businesses have also brought in their own tankers. The tanker is not supporting the governor's mansion or any other state assets. City distribution sites have been publicized," Estes said.

Turns out, the truck was brought in as a cautionary measure by Trustmark Bank.

The state has set up bottled water distribution sites to help residents affected by the water crisis. Long queues were found outside Hawkins Field Airport on Tuesday as people of all ages waited for at least two hours. However, some of them had to return empty-handed when the 700 cases of water ran out, reported CNN.

The same day, another distribution site at a retail parking lot ran out of water. Volunteers then apologized to people and urged them to return Wednesday morning. Some supermarkets temporarily ran out of bottled water, reported Reuters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security were authorized to coordinate disaster relief efforts and assist with required emergency measures.

"Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding for a period of 90 days," the White House said in a statement.

An emergency rental pump was set up at Jackson's OB Curtis Water Treatment Plant on Thursday.

"The emergency rental pump has been installed today at Jackson's O.B. Curtis water treatment plant. This is the first step of many and we will continue to work with our partners until the job is done," the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency tweeted.

The state set up seven water distribution sites Thursday – Cardozo Middle School, Smith-Wills Stadium, Metrocenter Mall, Mississippi State Fairgrounds, Northwest Jackson Middle School, Hinds Community College and Davis Road Park. They will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Gov. Reeves has ensured these sites will be well stocked.

"The state is committed to this effort. We will be here until this emergency is over. I want to ensure the people of Jackson that we will keep these state-run sites well stocked for all who need them," he tweeted.