Water, Sanitation, Hygiene
According to the Centers for Disease Control, global access to safe water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene education can reduce illness and death from disease, leading to improved health, poverty reduction, and socio-economic development. However, many countries are challenged to provide these basic necessities to their populations, leaving people at risk for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related diseases. Resources available within this theme offer information on providing access to safe water and appropriate sanitation facilities, and introducing sound hygiene behaviors.
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Resources
Integrated water management and environmental justice - Public acceptability and fairness in adopting water innovations
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July 2, 2021Innovations to manage freshwater resources and avert shortages - including conservation through reclaimed wastewater, desalination, and demand-side management measures like increasing block rate structures offer practical, effective remedies for meeting future water demands. This article examines...Read more
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United StatesLead Pipes and Environmental Justice
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July 2, 2021Maintaining and rebuilding aging water infrastructure across the United States is essential to providing communities with safe drinking water. Regular infrastructure repair work, such as when a water main under the street is repaired, can disturb service lines, which poses an issue when the line is...Read more
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United StatesEPA’S Role in Addressing the Urgent Water Infrastructure Needs of Environmental Justice Communities
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July 2, 2021Within this report, NEJAC highlights specific examples of vulnerable communities where residents do not have access to clean, safe drinking water and proper sanitation. EPA continues to serve an important and vital role in enforcement, training and dissemination of information to public and private...Read more
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United StatesWater Justice
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July 9, 2021Waters in urban and rural areas can be contaminated from a variety of sources, including industrial discharges, automobiles, wastewater, and agricultural use. Polluted water can cause environmental health hazards such as poor water quality and unsafe waters for recreation. Water utilities play a...Read more
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United StatesThe blueprint of disaster: COVID-19, the Flint water crisis, and unequal ecological impacts
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July 9, 2021COVID-19 is unique in the scope of its effects on morbidity and mortality. However, the factors contributing to its disparate racial and socioeconomic effects are part of a continuous history of oppressive social policy. This history is characterized by institutionally generated inequalities forged...Read more
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United StatesBalancing Multiple Goals at the Local Level: Water Quality, Water Equity, and Water Conservation
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July 13, 2021While there is a nationwide, overarching federal structure that pursues the goal of clean water, most efforts to provide clean water are seen at the local level. This paper looks at how local governments work to provide clean and safe water supplies while balancing the demands of fairness, justice...Read more
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United StatesEnvironmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?
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July 13, 2021Low-income and minority communities often face disproportionately high pollutant exposures. The lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, has sparked concern about broader socioeconomic disparities in exposures to drinking water contaminants. Nitrate is commonly found in drinking water, especially in...Read more
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United StatesMaking the Invisible Visible: Results of a Community-Led Health Survey Following PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water in Merrimack, New Hampshire
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July 13, 2021In March 2016, citizens of Merrimack, New Hampshire, learned that their public water supply was contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). A subsequent state-led investigation revealed widespread contamination of both public and private well water with PFOA and several related chemicals,...Read more
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United StatesApplying a Cumulative Risk Framework to Drinking Water Assessment: A Commentary
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July 13, 2021The health risks of drinking water contaminants and the economic benefits of drinking water standards are typically assessed one chemical at a time, an approach that misses the health impacts of co-occurring contaminants in drinking water. In contrast, a cumulative risk framework has become common...Read more
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United StatesAlliance for Water Stewardship in California's Central Valley
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July 16, 2021Fertile soil, mild weather, and long growing season allow California to produce nearly half of the United States' vegetables, fruits and nuts, and approximately 80% of the world's almonds. The state's agriculture industry is an economic powerhouse, valued at $46.4 billion and...Read more
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United StatesDon't see what you're looking for? You can search USWP member sites, request a resource, or contact the USWP.