Table of contents: Environmental Justice and Water Quality
By: Jennifer F. Novak
People often misunderstand the term “environmental justice.” Specifically, it sounds like complex legalese about environmental damage. However, the connection between environmental justice and water access affects human rights directly, impacting both everyday consumers and large corporations.
Understanding Environmental Justice
Fundamentally, the true definition focuses heavily on civil rights. Therefore, it demands fair treatment and meaningful involvement for everyone. Furthermore, this applies regardless of race, color, national origin, or income. Ultimately, everyone deserves a strong voice in environmental policymaking.
Historically, this concept exists because of America’s history of environmental disparities. For instance, past policymakers sometimes designed rules to disrupt and target communities of color. Consequently, officials frequently failed to enforce safe drinking water standards in these specific neighborhoods.
Although researchers have documented these unequal actions thoroughly, mainstream media rarely discusses them in depth.
The Intersection of Environmental Justice and Water
Initially, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974. At that time, lawmakers wanted to ensure equal access to safe public water. Unfortunately, this law fails many people today. Specifically, regulators simply do not enforce the rules equally across different communities.
Currently, the United States operates over 49,000 community drinking water systems. Yet, almost 130 million people consume water that violates safety standards. Consequently, many consumers face total shutoffs or drink heavily contaminated water.
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The Three Main Types of Water Violations
Generally, experts categorize water standard violations into three main types:
- Health-based violations: These occur when dangerous contaminants actively make a community sick.
- Monitoring and reporting violations: Frequently, system operators fail to test the water or hide results from authorities.
- Public notification violations: Moreover, officials fail to notify the public about known water problems.
Consequently, social inequity and chronic underinvestment heavily worsen these issues. Furthermore, statistics clearly show a link between race, ethnicity, and severe water violations. Thus, minorities suffer the most from the unsuccessful enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Who Suffers the Most from Contamination?
While one might picture a hypothetical large city struggling with sudden infrastructure failures, small communities actually suffer the most. For example, towns with fewer than 3,300 people rely on vulnerable, small water systems. Shockingly, these small systems account for over 80 percent of all water violations.
Therefore, low-income communities of color face chronic water contamination daily. Moreover, these neighborhoods share a long history of segregation and racial discrimination. Frequently, officials built these neighborhoods near former industrial zones or military facilities. Consequently, these locations make water contamination a permanent threat.
Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collected revealing data from 2016 through 2019. Specifically, they found that systems violating the Safe Drinking Water Act were 40 percent more likely to serve communities of color. State regulators also allowed these systems to operate out of compliance for much longer periods.
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How Can We Fix Issues with Environmental Justice and Water?
Undoubtedly, fixing the lack of environmental justice and water access requires massive effort from both corporations and consumers. Currently, no single agency accumulates complete records on this nationwide crisis. Therefore, we desperately need a centralized regulatory system.
Until then, we must strengthen our existing laws. Specifically, local governments should actively partner with the private sector. This teamwork fosters competition and, consequently, encourages vital innovation. Furthermore, leaders must identify and fund better infrastructure projects for rural clusters of homes.
On a national level, Congress must expand federal funding. Ultimately, supporting alternatives to traditional infrastructure will vastly improve water delivery. America has achieved amazing technological progress over the past century. Thus, we are more than capable of providing clean drinking water to all Americans. We simply must commit the resources to make it happen.
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About Us
The Law Office of Jennifer F. Novak provides strategic environmental law representation for property owners and businesses. We specialize in environmental litigation and regulatory compliance, focusing on soil and groundwater remediation, Clean Water Act citizen suits, and Water Board orders (Sections 13304 & 13267). We protect your interests by navigating complex regulations and ensuring fair enforcement.
Contact us today for dedicated environmental legal counsel.
