Water infrastructure is a complicated field people do not often think about. The average American’s relationship with water is, usually, turning on the tap and paying a monthly water bill in return. Worldwide, people have been taking the accessibility of water for granted, and the countless water crises now are simply a consequence of that complacency.
Humanity has struggled to create easy access to drinking water for thousands of years, building societies around fresh water sources to easily access clean water. From wells to rainwater collection systems, humanity began to get innovative to make water a common resource. Still, we struggle with water. We see news reports of toxic water plaguing a city for years again, and wonder why it hasn’t been solved yet. We see articles about droughts and families dying of dehydration while people just a few hundred miles away can get fresh water easily from a tap.
Jacksonville, Mississippi. Population: 163,778. The city’s main water treatment plan began failing in early September, when heavy rain caused the Pearl River to flood. The facility’s pumps were already damaged, and the people in Jacksonville lost all access to water. They had to file in lines to get cases of water for bathing, for drinking, and for cooking.
This crisis sounds simple. Caused by environmental sources, there isn’t much that could have been done. Right?
This water crisis in Jacksonville, and many other places, goes much deeper than environmental harming infrastructure. For years, Jacksonville residents have been advised to boil all water before drinking. “DO NOT DRINK THE WATER BEFORE BOILING IT FIRST,” are the exact words of the notice. In 2020, the water infrastructure also failed an EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) inspection, finding that the water had the potential to host harmful bacteria and parasites. In 2021, residents couldn’t access water for a month when pipes froze and burst due to a storm.
These consistent issues exist for a variety of reasons. The pipes at their water treatment plants are old and malfunctions are common. With a lack of funding to fix these long-term issues, the water treatment plant also isn’t staffed properly.
Funding-wise, Jacksonville’s issues are complex and difficult to understand. 75 million is given to the state yearly for water infrastructure, but the Jacksonville water treatment plant spent 8 million just to fix one pipe.
Even worse than the funding issues, racism takes the center stage when it comes to Jacksonville. 80% of Jacksonville’s residents are Black, and 25% of their Black population is in poverty. Many officials and residents have accused the city of diverting funds meant to help the water system in Jacksonville to other Mississippi communities--specifically, to ones that have a primarily white population.
Jacksonville isn’t the only city to have issues with water infrastructure based on race. Flint, Michigan, faces similar issues. Most people are already aware of the water issues in Flint, remembering a year-long investigation beginning in 2016 that related the city’s poor water infrastructure to decades of systemic racism and racial bias. Despite this investigation and national coverage, the crisis is still ongoing.
The water may return in Jacksonville and Flint, but the effect it has on people is permanent. PTSD related to the water crisis affects a quarter of Flint’s residents, and dozens of people in both Flint and Jacksonville died because of water contamination. Specifically: lead contamination, which Jacksonville residents claimed was “silently poisoning their children” seven years ago.
Water issues in America don’t just end in water contamination, and don’t just affect smaller towns. California is entering its fourth year of drought, which has been greatly affecting the residents and the environment. Even
7,757 miles away from California, Pakistan is drowning. Pakistan has already experienced extreme flooding in the past, but this year saw a third of the country underwater.
Villagers lost their livelihood, watching their crops get ruined as they evacuated. Families got separated as they evacuated, and many parents lost their children. Starvation plagues the country as the price of food increases and the threat of dying of thirst becomes real due to the contamination of water systems.
Though the flood is over now, its effects continue to linger. Disease has been spreading rapidly in Pakistan these past few days, with hundreds of thousands of malaria cases being discovered. The country has also suffered billions worth of damages, and many nations agree that this year's flooding was so horrible due to the effects of climate change.
Without a doubt, water is an issue that plagues humanity worldwide. From rich American citizens in California to villagers in Pakistan, anyone can be affected. Water infrastructure, if made poorly, can fail at any time and is often far too expensive to fix. National governments often don't care enough to solve the issue--specifically for third-world countries or cities inhabited by a minority population.
As climate change gets worse and further affects our world, those of us who are not affected by this crisis must consider what others are experiencing and educate ourselves.
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