Drinking Water Injustice: Racial Disparity in Regulatory Enforcement of Safe Drinking Water Act Violations

Abstract

This study assessed regulatory enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) within the political-economic context that examined the impacts of community characteristics on length of time a water system remains in noncompliance with SDWA regulations. Our findings indicate that noncompliant water systems in counties with higher proportion of both Black and Hispanic residents take longer to be returned to compliance with the SDWA. Conversely, water systems serving a larger percentage of White residents are in noncompliance for shorter time period, and as the percent White in an area increases, time to compliance decreases. The findings indicate that minority communities are not given equal attention with respect to managing compliance with the SDWA. This study suggests that the legacy of racialized urban planning and long-term disinvestment in water infrastructure are responsible for the longer duration of water system noncompliance in areas with higher percentage of minority population.