On Friday, the Mississippi Department of Health announced that the tap water in Jackson, Mississippi is now safe for consumption, just one day after warning residents about potential bacteria in the water supply.

The health advisory in Mississippi has been lifted as recent tests did not detect any traces of E. coli in the water supply of Jackson. This update goes against the previous instructions from the Mississippi Department of Health on Thursday, which advised residents to boil their water before using it.

Ted Henifin, the temporary water manager for Jackson, announced the decision several hours later. He stated that another set of samples taken from the city’s water system came back negative for E. coli. These new results, gathered from the same spots where state authorities had found positive readings the previous day, suggest that the initial test was most likely incorrect due to contamination in the lab, according to Henifin.

On Friday, the health department reaffirmed the accuracy of the initial test results and rejected the suggestion that their lab was contaminated. According to officials, E. coli has been found in Jackson’s water system 29 times since 2003, and in the neighboring suburb of Flowood three times during the same time period.

“The provision of clean drinking water is crucial for safeguarding the health, welfare, and safety of all individuals without any exceptions,” stated Dr. Dan Edney, the state’s health officer.

On Friday, Henifin anticipated that the boil water notice would not be lifted after just one day because state regulations dictate that officials must receive clean results for two consecutive days before lifting it.

According to Greg Flynn, who represents the state health department, federal regulations permit samples from the same location to be collected and tested within 24 hours. If the results are negative, advisories to boil water can be lifted. The state has stricter guidelines that require an additional day of testing. However, in this situation, the state rule was waived due to opposition to the extra requirements.

According to Flynn, the water in Jackson met the required federal standard and the health department was pleased with the outcome. He added that this is the diplomatic way of stating it.

During press briefings on Thursday and Friday, Henifin stated that state officials declined to verify the laboratory results prior to issuing the boil-water advisory.

Henifin expressed confusion over the decision made by the Mississippi Department of Health to issue a boil-water notice for the entire city without first verifying the initial test results. He believes that this action has caused significant harm to the community’s trust in their water system and has also had a negative impact on local businesses.

State health officials imposed boil-water notices in Jackson and Flowood following positive results in both cities Thursday. The bacteria’s presence indicated that the water may have been contaminated with human or animal waste, the department initially said.

According to Flynn, the current boil-water advisory in Flowood remains in place until additional tests are conducted.

Henifin stated that it was improbable for samples taken from both Jackson and Flowood to be contaminated simultaneously, as the two cities have separate and distinct water systems that do not share a common source.

In November 2022, a federal judge selected Henifin to supervise the improvements of Jackson’s consistently problematic water system. This decision came after the city experienced multiple infrastructure failures in late summer, leaving numerous residents without access to clean water for several days or even weeks.

The potential for a cold snap in the coming days could worsen the already disrupted water infrastructure in Jackson, following the recent E. coli scare. Frozen pipes and decreases in water pressure were prevalent in 2021 and 2022 due to previous cold spells.

The lab technicians were rushed to test samples from 120 locations due to the positive tests and boil water notices in preparation for the winter weather.

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Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him at @mikergoldberg.