Jackson, Mississippi water shortage hurts local restaurants
BRAVO! Italian Restaurant manager Tanya Burns shares what restaurants and locals in the community are facing as Jackson, Miss. water shortage continues.
As the city of Jackson, Mississippi battles an ongoing water crisis, many in the community say boil water notices and shortages are nothing new.
BRAVO! Italian Restaurant manager Tanya Burns joined "America's Newsroom" Thursday and shared the city's decades of issues with water and how it's impacting residents.
"We've operated in the same location for about 28 years and this is not new," Burns told co-host Trace Gallagher. "We are desensitized at this point to the boil water notices."
During the current shortage, which has left many of the city's 180,000 residents without running water, restaurants like BRAVO! are forced to buy bottled water and canned sodas to remain open.
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI CANNOT PRODUCE WATER TO FIGHT FIRES, FLUSH TOILETS: GOVERNOR
A Jackson, Miss., Fire Department firefighter puts cases of bottled water in a resident's SUV, Aug. 18, 2022, as part of the city's response to longstanding water system problems. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
However, the water shortage has caused other "ripple effects" in the community as employees often can't shower and restaurants have to find alternate methods for cleaning dishes.
"When there's no pressure, when you can't even get water in the building to wash dishes, that's where you run into the issues," Burns said.
"When people can't shower before work and then they come in to show up for work that's suddenly closed because you don't have water, it creates a huge ripple effect for the entire community."
The water shortage has had a noticeable impact on the local economy and small businesses in the area which have been forced to close.
"As you may have heard by now that the city of Jackson is dealing with a water crisis," BRAVO! posted on their website. "As a result, the restaurants have lost water and this makes it impossible for us to open and serve the public."
FEMA announced Wednesday that federal emergency aid had been made available to supplement state response efforts to the water crisis after President Biden approved an emergency declaration for the state's capital.
Burns is calling on local officials take action to prevent future incidents.
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"It's not about what's been going on the past decades," Burns said. "It's about what are we going to do to move forward."
Fox News' Julia Musto contributed to this report.
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