"Invisible Crisis" Leaves Over 1 Million Americans Without Modern Plumbing

According to the United States Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, there are approximately 1.6 million Americans living in housing units that do not have “complete plumbing facilities.”  The definition for a lack of complete plumbing facilities can range from not having a bathtub or shower, a working flush toilet, or running hot and cold water. 

In a March 22, 2018 Los Angeles Times Op-Ed, George McGraw explains that having a lack of access for complete plumbing facilities is an invisible crisis for over 1 million Americans.  McGraw, who is the founder of the nonprofit organization Dig Deep, writes: “Impoverished rural communities in Appalachia face water-borne diseases at rates rarely seen in developed nations.  Even here in California more than 1 million people rely on public drinking water systems that have violated state safety standards, threatening their health.

The invisible crisis for Americans who lack complete access to modern plumbing systems is concentrated to certain demographics and geographic locations.  According to McGraw’s LA Times Op-Ed: “The problem is experienced most acutely by African Americans in the rural South, Latinos in the rural Southwest, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives, residents of deep Appalachia, and migrant and seasonal farmworkers.”  In places such as Lowndes County, Alabama, only 20% of the county is connected to the municipal water system.  In parts of the United States, Navajo and Hopi tribal members transport drinking water to their homes in bottles or buckets.

More water/sanitation facts:

* Farms in the United States are more productive than ever.  This high rate of production has caused more poisoned drinking water for rural Americans.
* According to the United States Geological Survey, 1 in 7 Americans drink from private well water.
* According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2 billion people worldwide lack access to basic sanitation facilities such as toilets or latrines.
* At least 10% of the world’s population is presumed to consume food irrigated by wastewater.
* A 2012 WHO study found that for every dollar (U.S.) invested in sanitation, there was a return on investment of $5.50 (U.S.) in lower health care costs, more productivity, and fewer premature deaths.

Sources:  

“A Toilet, but No Proper Plumbing: A Reality in 500,000 U.S. Homes,” The New York Times by Sabrina Tavernise, September 26, 2016.

“Booming Farms, Poisoned Wells,” The Wall Street Journal by Jesse Newman and Patrick McGroarty, January 19 – 20, 2019.

“Op-Ed: For millions of Americans, lack of access to water isn’t just a drought problem,” Los Angeles Times by George McGraw, March 22, 2018.

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