LOCAL

Hattiesburg team holds water drive to help Jackson residents during water crisis

Lici Beveridge
Hattiesburg American

As the Jackson water crisis deepens, help is coming in different shapes and sizes.

Late Tuesday, Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons invited Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders, his coaching staff and players to stay in the Delta city.

Coach Prime and the JSU Tigers were forced to leave campus in search of new lodgings and practice facilities after one of Jackson's water treatment facilities failed and sent the city's water woes to new heights.

FILE - Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders calls out a play in the first half of Jackson State's Blue and White Spring NCAA college football game April 24, 2022, in Jackson, Miss. Last season, Sanders' second as Jackson State head coach, the Tigers went 11-2 and won the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Then Sanders signed two Power Five-level recruits to the HBCU, an unprecedented recruiting feat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Simmons said area business leaders and other community stakeholders agreed to provide food and housing assistance to the team. The city also will provide a practice field, particularly important as the Tigers prepare for Sunday's game against FAMU at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

How to help:150,000 in Jackson, Mississippi are without safe drinking water. Here's how you can help.

"'Love,' 'thank you' and 'appreciate you' to everyone that's flooded us with messages, that desires to give us donations, that just want to ride with us," Sanders said in a video statement on Twitter. "You have no idea what that means to us. You are unbelievable."

In addition, Simmons announced a water drive through Sept. 15 in Greenville to ship bottled water to the capital city. Water may be dropped off at Greenville fire stations 1, 2 and 5, 532 Central St., 623 East Union St. and 2337 East Alexander St.

“When our neighbor is in need, we are in need and should lend a helping hand," Simmons said in a news release. “The Bible commands us to love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons, speaks about how honored he is as the first Black mayor of Greenville, Miss., to help introduce the first Black vice president, Vice President Kamala Harris, during a program at the E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center in Greenville, Miss., Friday, April 1, 2022.

Simmons, a 2000 graduate of JSU, is father of Tigers football player Errick Simmons.

Neither Simmons nor JSU media relations responded to requests for comment. It is unclear where the team is located or whether Sanders accepted Simmons' offer.

How did we get here? A look back at Jackson's ongoing issue with water

Twin Forks Rising, a nonprofit community development corporation based in Hattiesburg, is organizing another water drive, said Deborah Delgado, one of the event organizers. Bottled water of any size will be accepted beginning Thursday.

A Kroger customer places a case of drinking water into her vehicle, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022, in Jackson, Miss. Parts of Jackson were without running water Tuesday because recent flooding worsened problems in one of two water-treatment plants as part of the city's response to longstanding water system problems. The state Health Department put Mississippi's capital city under a boil-water notice in late July. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Delgado said residents in Jackson are finding it more and more difficult to find bottled water in stores. And though water distribution sites are set up across the city, they are not always accessible.

Drop offs in Hattiesburg may be made at Twin Forks, 601 East Pine St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday. The drive will resume again Monday and will continue on weekdays until there no longer is a need.

Monetary donations for water purchases may be made by calling 601-818-5588.

Pallets loaded with cases of water are unloaded at a Kroger grocery store in north Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. The grocery chain and other stores are facing the challenges of the city's longstanding water system problems, by making more drinking water available for its customers. Recent flooding worsened problems in one of two water-treatment plants and the state Health Department has had Mississippi's capital city under a boil-water notice since late July. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Jackson has been under a state-mandated boil-water notice for over a month. Low water pressure has plagued areas of the city.

While the capital city's aging water and sewer system has been an issue for years, the water crisis came to a head Monday, when state and local officials learned one of the water treatment plants had failed after weeks of heavy rain and flooding.

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Gov. Tate Reeves and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba declared states of emergency Monday. On Tuesday, Reeves sought federal assistance in combatting Jackson's water woes. Late Tuesday night, the White House responded in the affirmative.

FEMA will be directing federal response.

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.