Water justice: Empirical analysis of U.S. patterns and regional heterogeneity

Water quality, water access and competition among competing water uses are a concern around the globe. In many areas of the U.S., water availability is constrained by pollution and lack of water delivery and treatment infrastructure. These constraints have disproportionate effects on low-income areas and communities of color. In this article, we analyze differential exposure among racial and ethnic groups to specific environmental burdens linked to how water is used and managed. We examine differential exposure by analyzing data from the U.S Council on Environmental Quality, combined with U.S. census data for 73,225 census tracts covering the entire U.S. We find that Hispanic and Black populations are disproportionately exposed to three of the environmental burdens examined in this study: dust pollution, leaky underground storage tanks and lack of green space. Black and American Indian populations are more likely to be in census tracts with higher proportions of inadequate household water access. We also document substantial regional heterogeneity in these patterns, with disparities among groups varying significantly in magnitude across U.S. regions. Identifying systemic patterns of differential exposure is a first step in motivating and shaping policy measures to mitigate disproportional adverse effects on vulnerable populations.