A 1-Mile Trip To Collect Drinking Water? Yes, This is America

Water, water everywhere. Well, not exactly.

Thousands of Americans don’t have the pleasure of turning on the tap and expecting a fresh drink. Some, in both urban and rural communities, get contaminated water that’s dangerous to their health. Others might not even have a tap to turn on. The stereotypical image of a woman balancing a water jug on her head is not unique to the developing world. There are people living in the U.S. who must do the same thing every day.

Our antiquated water system and EPA regulations (or lack of) are largely to blame. Our water and sewer system is overburdened, operating beyond capacity and in need of significant upgrades. At the same time, the EPA only regulates 91 chemical contaminants in our water system while there are over 60,000 unregulated ones. It is a dangerous mix that is a recipe for ongoing disaster in the form of costly burst pipes, overflowing sewer systems and undrinkable water.

Miriam Torres of the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water (EJCW) is working with communities throughout Southern California plagued by these vicious forces. Trailer park residents in Coachella Valley have no potable water and are forced to walk up to a mile to collect drinking water from a communal spot.

Yes, this is happening in America.

As Torres says, “Unless a developer comes in to extend a water line and finds it in their heart to include the community, it won’t happen.”

Actually, legislation has passed in California requiring that 10 percent of all state funding for water-related projects is directed to disadvantaged communities. But getting the law on the books was only the first step. As Torres dryly notes, it’s still far easier to fund pet projects such as recycled groundwater for golf courses than safe drinking water infrastructure for people.

Not too far from the Coachella Valley in Los Angeles County is the city of Maywood. It received national attention when it was featured in the New York Times last year but not because it received any accolades. The one-square mile town of 30,000 residents receives its water from three privately held companies that are hold-overs from when the area was largely agricultural and the companies delivered water to fields.

These companies, outside of the purview of local regulators, are delivering residents dirty, brown water filled with contaminants such as manganese, tetrachloroethylene and perchlorate (none are regulated either by the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act). The latter two are solvents from the dry-cleaning and military industries and are associated with negative health effects on neurological, kidney and liver functions. Although the people of Maywood continue to be exposed to these chemicals at low levels, it is not in violation of state law. As a result, Torres says, there’s “no action for the state to take. It’s especially concerning that children are drinking any levels of these chemicals in their water.”

Though manganese is naturally occurring, it attaches to the old pipes and is delivered to residents’ drinking water. Research shows at high levels it affects the central nervous system, lungs, kidney and liver. Torres and others are in a bind: the old pipes aren’t being cleaned anytime soon and the state health department classifies manganese only as a visual concern, allowing this problem to continue.

This disastrous system is making people sick, costing us billions of dollars, wasting water, and is shameful to our nation. What is clearly obvious is that we need an overhaul of water infrastructure and upgrades to chemicals regulated by the EPA.

You can help right now by getting involved in Food & Water Watch’s campaign to fund water and sewer upgrades with a small tax on bottled water, or by supporting the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water in its work.