People living in the Mississippi city of Jackson have been told to shower with their mouths closed after clean water supplies ran out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are due to visit on Friday to help mitigate the city’s long-running water crisis.
Excessive rainfall last weekend resulted in damage at one of Jackson’s water treatment facilities, which exacerbated issues further.
The whole city has been under a ‘boil water order’ since 29 July.
In 2021, Jackson residents lived under a similar order for 225 of 365 days.
Low pressure has seen most families’ taps run dry, but for those who do still have a mains supply, city officials are insisting they boil their water for at least a minute before use.
The order states that water samples collected on 28 July showed “turbidity (cloudiness) levels of 1 to 2.5 units”, compared to standard levels of 0.3.
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This means there is an “increased chance the water may contain disease-causing organisms”.
As a result, residents must boil water before drinking it, using it for cooking, brushing teeth or washing dishes.
The order says people can “wash hands and bathe as usual – as long as no water is swallowed”.
It also advises people to brush their teeth with bottled water if possible.
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Schools forced to shut and go virtual
With temperatures due to exceed 32C (90F) on Friday, most Jackson schools have closed and switched to virtual learning.
Meanwhile, water distribution points have been set up throughout the city for residents to collect bottled water.
The Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition is currently crowdfunding for $2m (£1.73m) in donations to help provide Jackson’s 180,000 people with drinkable water.
In a statement this week, the organisation hit out at local and state governments for failing to maintain key infrastructure.
“After more than five decades of neglect by the state, residents in older cities, like Jackson, have been forced to carry the financial burden of fragile infrastructure and have been exposed regularly to the health risks associated with the need for constant repair,” it said.
Jackson still uses lead water pipes, which can pollute drinking water with neurotoxins.
After white families left in droves before the turn of the millennium, 82% of people in Jackson are black. A quarter of people live in poverty.
