American members of Congress Bernie Sanders and Brenda Lawrence recently labeled access to clean water a “profit machine” in the US, as millions of Americans are denied running water and basic indoor plumbing due to an unsafe water supply and unaffordable water bills. The United Nations recognises clean water access as a fundamental human right. Clean water remains an essential tool to good hand hygiene and preventing infection of COVID-19, and the US’s ongoing struggle to secure clean water for all its communities sharply undermines the nation’s fight against the novel coronavirus. Moreover, the water crisis is exposing the country’s flawed public health system, particularly structural racism. 

A recent investigation by The Guardian uncovered a lack of access to water that millions of Americans face. Federal funding for water systems has declined by 77% since 1977. As underfunded local water utilities grapple with changing population demographics, outdated infrastructure, and varied responses to floods and droughts from the growing climate crisis, the price of water has increased exponentially. US residents who cannot pay these water bills risk being disconnected from their service or could even lose their homes. 

Not only has access to clean water become increasingly unaffordable in the US, but it has also proven unsafe. The scandal in Flint, Michigan in 2014 exposed high levels of lead in the city’s water supply, brought on by a shift in the water supply aimed at lowering costs. Just recently, the state reached a $600 million settlement with Flint residents over the situation. An later investigation uncovered that, in 2015, nearly 77 million Americans were drinking water derived from systems in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. New research sheds further light on the persistent, widespread risk of lead poisoning from private wells across the US. 

A RACIALISED PROBLEM

This crisis disproportionately affects America’s most marginalised communities, drawing into focus the devastating effects of coronavirus on people of colour in the US. A study completed by DigDeep and US Water Alliance found that African American and Latinx households were nearly twice as likely to lack complete plumbing compared to white families, with Native American households 19 times more likely to lack access. Moreover, nearly a third of the Navajo Nation, a population with one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates, live without access to running water. 

In the state of Michigan, African Americans make up nearly 14% of the overall population but about 40% of the state’s COVID-19-related deaths. When the coronavirus hit Detroit and its communities, an estimated 2,800 homes were deprived of water due to shut-offs. Residents were provided with bottled water from local community organisations but were then faced with the choice of hydration or hand washing. Access to clean water is intrinsic to good public health, and the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the social danger that inadequate access to water poses to society.

AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM

In 2010, the US did not support the UN General Assembly’s resolution on the human right to water and sanitation. Its policy of placing the responsibility of water systems on local governments has affected primarily its poor and working-class residents.

The US is not alone in failing to provide clean water to its residents, especially in the midst of a global public health crisis. For the 780 million people across the globe who do not have access to a decent water source, following guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection remains near-impossible. Additionally, those in prisons and detention centres, asylum seekers and refugees in camps and settlements, and those without shelter are extremely at risk. Governments across the world must hold each other accountable to the international human rights standards that require providing their communities with a safe and accessible supply of clean water. 

Sean works as a paralegal in the employment and discrimination department at Leigh Day. He studied History and American Studies at the University of Manchester and has a keen interest in international human rights issues and climate justice. 

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