This story was updated at 3:45 p.m. EDT.
The Biden administration has ended two investigations of Mississippi’s handling of the water crisis in Jackson, finding “insufficient evidence” that state agencies discriminated against the majority-Black capital.
As Jackson’s water crisis came to a head in 2022, state and national chapters of the NAACP and nine city residents accused Mississippi of “blatantly and repeatedly” ignoring the city’s failing water infrastructure.
That August, the city’s neglected water facilities flooded and failed, sewage poured into waterways, and about 150,000 people lost water access, some for weeks. To date, advocacy groups say that water challenges persist, despite federal funding and national attention.