The flow might be good-- But the water quality is not.
After a water treatment plant failed this week, residents in Jackson, Mississippi were warned against drinking the water, washing with it or even brushing their teeth... and that's all taking a toll.
"People are fed up, they're running to bordering cities who have clean water to just bathe and to go into their grocery stores and buying up all the water because we have none."
Ashely Tose is 7-months pregnant, and says she is considering moving away from Mississippi and its water problems.
"We need help. We need federal oversight. We need something to happen because for it to be going on for years and the governor not caring, the mayor hiring incompetent people to run the water treatment plants. It's like it's never-ending."
The neglected O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant broke down this week from complications after a weekend of heavy rain and flooding.
A state of emergency is in place... as some 180,000 people living in Jackson and the surrounding communities desperately search for clean water.
There's only so many water bottles volunteers have to give.
And stores shelves are going empty fast.
Kendra Payne came to a water bottle giveaway outside a local WalMart.
"It's sad, it's sad. And I can't even afford to move out of Jackson, so I have to stay here and deal with this."
Nearby - experts scrambled to install a temporary pump at the water plant, which has been plagued by inadequate staffing and maintenance problems.
"This is a set of accumulated problems based on deferred maintenance that has not taken place over decades." (from Tuesday)
That's Democratic Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, who has accused the state of failing to support Jackson's efforts to maintain the plant.
But Republican Governor Tate Reeves has alleged that the water treatment plant suffered from years of city mismanagement.
Many Jackson residents - like Danyelle Holmes - say the lack of investment in Jackson's water infrastructure reflected the racial make-up of the city, which Census data shows is more than 80% Black.
"Extreme racist politics are being put before the people. It's time that we put that to the side."
Long before the water plant's breakdown - there was a string of disruptions to the city's water supply caused by high lead levels, bacterial contamination and storm damage.
About a month ago, residents were told to boil their water before drinking it.
Late on Tuesday, President Joe Biden's administration approved an emergency declaration and ordered federal assistance to supplement the state's response.
And Mayor Lumumba told CNN he expected water to be restored by the end of the week.
