Jackson Water Ruling: No Constitutional Right to Clean Water

A federal appeals court has told the people of Jackson, Mississippi, that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a right to safe drinking water. On September 4, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Jackson residents who say city leaders let lead into their taps and then told them the water was fine. The Jackson water ruling closes, for now, one of the most closely watched civil rights cases to come out of the capital city’s long water crisis.

Jackson is about 82 percent Black. The decision lands hardest there, but it also sends a message to every community living with aging pipes in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, the states the Fifth Circuit covers: a federal constitutional claim may not be the road to accountability. Here is what the court decided, why it is disputed, and what families can do to protect themselves now.

What the Fifth Circuit Decided in the Jackson Water Case

The case, Sterling v. City of Jackson, was filed in 2022 by residents Priscilla Sterling, Raine Becker, Shawn Miller and John Bennett against the city, former mayors Chokwe A. Lumumba and Tony Yarber, former public works directors and an engineering firm, Mississippi Today reported. They argued that officials violated their 14th Amendment right to bodily integrity by exposing them to lead, and that the city misled them about the danger.

A district judge dismissed the case in 2024. Then, in November 2025, a panel of three judges revived it in an opinion by Judge Catharina Haynes, which described a city that allegedly introduced lead into its water, pumped it into homes and lied about its safety. That panel also formally adopted what lawyers call the state-created danger theory in the Fifth Circuit.

The full court then reheard the case and took that win away. Writing for the majority, Judge Kurt Engelhardt said the harm may be grievous but does not infringe on any deeply rooted constitutional right, and found no historical basis for using the Due Process Clause this way. “We will not expand the Fourteenth Amendment,” the majority wrote, WLBT reported. The court said the residents’ remedies lie in tort claims, in electing better leaders, or in petitioning lawmakers.

Judge Haynes led the dissenters, arguing that the residents deserved a chance to gather evidence and that the majority dodged the state-created danger question. Jackson Mayor John Horhn said the city was pleased with the decision.

A Split With Flint, and a Possible Supreme Court Question

The ruling puts the Fifth Circuit at odds with the Sixth Circuit, which covers Michigan. That court’s precedent, including Guertin v. Michigan, a 2019 decision that grew out of the Flint water crisis, points the other way, according to a legal analysis at the Volokh Conspiracy. Bloomberg Law reported that the Fifth Circuit also stands apart from other circuits in refusing to squarely adopt or reject the state-created danger doctrine.

In plain terms, residents in Michigan have had a constitutional argument available that Jackson residents now do not. When federal appeals courts disagree on a constitutional question, the Supreme Court becomes more likely to step in. As of September 9, the plaintiffs had not publicly said whether they would ask the justices to take the case, Rolling Out reported. That is the next decision to watch.

The Jackson Water Crisis Is Not Over

The lawsuit grew out of years of problems. Testing from 2010 to 2013 showed rising lead levels, and the system broke down again in the August 2022 water crisis. Federal oversight and roughly $600 million in funding followed, theGrio reported, and the utility, now called JXN Water, is still working through repairs.

Other legal fights continue. In May, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate allowed a lawsuit by the NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center to go forward. It claims Mississippi discriminated against Jackson in handing out American Rescue Plan water infrastructure money, releasing $4 million in matching funds while holding back $32 million, Magnolia Tribune reported. The state says the crisis came from years of city neglect.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, who represents Jackson in Congress, pointed out that federal law still requires water systems to meet EPA standards. “Every American deserves access to safe and clean drinking water,” he said. The ruling also fits a wider pattern BCN has tracked, as courts and agencies narrow the legal tools Black communities have relied on, from the Voting Rights Act to fair housing protections.

What This Means for You: How to Check Your Water for Lead

The court’s message is that protection has to come from elected officials, state law and federal drinking water rules. Those federal lead rules are still standing. In February, the EPA said it would defend the requirement that most water systems replace lead service lines within 10 years, the Associated Press reported, and the agency now estimates about 4 million lead pipes remain in use nationwide. Here is how to put those rules to work.

Find out if your home has a lead service line

Every community water system had to prepare an inventory of service line materials by October 16, 2024, and make the locations of lead lines public, according to the EPA’s lead and copper rule page. Call your utility or check its website. The EPA’s Protect Your Tap guide shows how to check the pipe entering your home using a coin and a magnet.

If you live in Jackson

JXN Water posts an interactive lead service line map and lead resources that show whether your line is lead, galvanized, not lead or unknown. Customer service answers around the clock at 601-500-5200, and the Mississippi Public Health Laboratory handles water testing at 601-576-7582. The utility says it replaces lead lines when they are identified and provides filters certified to reduce lead.

Protect your household today

Use only cold water for drinking, cooking and baby formula, and remember that boiling does not remove lead. Run the tap, take a shower or start a load of laundry before drinking water that has been sitting in the pipes. Use a filter certified to remove lead and change cartridges on schedule. A certified lab test typically costs $20 to $100, according to the EPA.

Test your children

Ask your pediatrician or family doctor for a blood lead test. The CDC recommends action when a child’s level reaches 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or more.

Read your annual water report

Your water supplier must send a Consumer Confidence Report by July 1 every year listing the contaminants it found. If you did not get one, the EPA’s guide for consumers explains how to find it. Questions can go to the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

The Fifth Circuit did not say Jackson residents were unharmed. It said the Constitution is the wrong tool. That puts the work back on voters, city councils, state legislatures and Congress, and on families to know what is running through their pipes. Check your line, test your kids, and ask the people on your ballot this November exactly what they will do about water.