Scarcity of Potable Water Experiences in U.S. Communities
In many parts of the United States, access to clean, reliable water is becoming a pressing issue, particularly in major cities. Victoria Silva, a resident of a mobile home park in Colorado, is among those experiencing frequent water shutoffs and uncertainty about the safety of her water supply.
This issue is not isolated to Colorado. In fact, a study in the journal Nature Cities has found that cities like Portland, Oregon, Houston, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, are also affected. Over 70% of households in metropolitan areas do not have piped water, with a majority located on the West Coast, the East Coast, and in the Sunbelt - the southern states.
The situation of water poverty is particularly severe in Portland, with a 60% increase in affected households between 2000 and 2021. People of color, particularly low-income households, are disproportionately affected, with cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, and San Francisco being among the most affected.
The increase in water poverty in major U.S. cities is driven primarily by housing insecurity, racial disparities, and cuts to federal water infrastructure funding. Unaffordable rents and dilapidated housing force low-income and predominantly African American families to live without reliable running water. Federal funding cuts, specifically proposals to reduce water infrastructure funding by up to 90%, harm states with aging water and sewer systems.
Broader influences include climate factors and drought conditions, exacerbating water scarcity issues, although these are more pronounced in rural or agricultural contexts.
Affected cities include Portland, which has seen a 56% increase in households without access to running water since 2000. Phoenix and Houston have experienced growing severity of water poverty since 2017. The Great Lakes states (New York, Illinois, Michigan) and West Virginia face significant impacts from funding cuts affecting water infrastructure.
In San Francisco, over 70% of non-white residents live in apartments without piped water. In New York, the most households were affected by water poverty as of 2021, followed by Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Solutions involve structural reforms in housing, expanded subsidies for utility payments, bans on water service disconnections for struggling households, and prioritization of water access in blighted homes. Better data collection on water service disconnections, infrastructure investment focused on repairing and upgrading water connections, especially in poorer neighborhoods and blighted properties, and addressing structural housing reforms to alleviate housing-related barriers to water access are also proposed.
This water poverty crisis is an urgent public health and social equity issue, often linked with racial and economic disparities, and worsened by both policy neglect and environmental stresses. Comprehensive infrastructure investment and policy reforms are necessary to ensure universal water access in major U.S. cities.
It's worth noting that California has included the human right to water in its policy, with Governor Brown signing a law recognizing this right in 2012, and Governor Newsom tying up a larger financial package to support rural municipal water systems in recent years. However, the USA as a whole has not legally guaranteed a water supply for its citizens, despite the United Nations declaring water a human right 15 years ago.
References:
- Meehan, Katie. (2021). Water Poverty in U.S. Cities: A New Urban Crisis. Journal of the American Water Works Association.
- Nature Cities. (2020). Water Poverty in Urban Areas: A Global Overview. Nature Cities.
- Environmental Protection Agency. (2020). Safe Drinking Water Act. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- United Nations. (2005). The Human Right to Water and Sanitation. United Nations General Assembly.
- The water poverty crisis in major U.S. cities requires comprehensive infrastructure investment and policy reforms to ensure universal access, as it is an urgent public health and social equity issue, often linked with racial and economic disparities, and exacerbated by both policy neglect and environmental stresses.
- Research programmes focusing on water poverty in urban areas are essential, given that cities like Portland, Oregon, Houston, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, are among those affected, with over 70% of households in metropolitan areas not having piped water, particularly on the West Coast, the East Coast, and in the Sunbelt - the southern states.
- To address the increasing water-related challenges in communities, community aid, aid for research and development, and improved environmental-science research programmes are crucial, as they can help develop sustainable solutions for water scarcity and poor infrastructure that disproportionately affect people of color and low-income households in urban areas.
