From Jacksonville to Jackson: Bottled water drive planned to ease Mississippi water crisis

A water drive will be held in Jacksonville Sunday to collect clean water for Jackson, Miss., where historic flooding last month left about 150,000 of the city's mostly Black residents without drinkable water.

People are asked to drop off bottled water from noon to 4 p.m. at James Weldon Johnson Park, 135 W Monroe St. in Jacksonville.

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Jackson Public Schools has asked for clean water specifically for children under age 6 and pregnant women.

The flooding damaged a water treatment plant. Last Thursday, Mississippi health officials lifted a boil-advisory and Jackson city officials later stopped distribution of free bottled water. But state officials said pregnant women and young children should still use bottled water because of lead in some pipes.

The drive is jointly hosted by Duval County Public Schools, JaxParks and the I'm A Star Foundation, a nonprofit Jacksonville-based leadership program for middle and high school students.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109