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Dishearteningly, what Dr. Ranganathan witnessed in the 2010s persists to this day.
Yet between 2016 and 2019,almost 45 million Americansrelied on drinking water that violated these health standards.
Catherine Flowers is the rural development manager at Equal Justice Initiative, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, and author of “Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret.”
In wellness circles, the ability to drink the recommendedeight glasses of water per dayis often taken for granted.
And without waterwhich is the basis of all life on Earthits impossible to be well.
(The estimated usefulness lifespan of any water system infrastructure is 75 to 100 years.
(She is also a2020 MacArthur Fellow.
Contamination of drinking water has varying health implications, including birth deformities and certain cancers, says Dr. Ranganathan.
Bacterial contamination can result in diarrhea or dysentery.
Coleman-Flowers agrees, saying that inadequate wastewater treatment is a perfect example of these racial inequities at work.
Athird of householdsin the Navajo Nationstill lack accessto running or potable water.
Cleaning up our act
So, what is being done to rectify drinking water insecurity and inequality?
Catherine Flowers is the rural development manager at Equal Justice Initiative, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, and author of “Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret.”
Coleman-Flowers observes that several senators and some within the House of Representatives have beenintroducing legislation to address wastewater issues.
(However, the economic impact of the pandemic hasreportedly put this program on pause.)
Of course, much remains to be done.
Coleman-Flowers says policies need to allow use of alternative systems as well as exploring greener ways to treat wastewater.
Finally, making informed voting decisions cannot be overlooked.
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