Many of the cities or regions experiencing poor water access or conditions are in predominantly Black or Hispanic communities, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
In November 2021, jet fuel leaked from a storage facility operated by the Navy, contaminating the drinking water of local Honolulu residents and sickening hundreds of families.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, many people remain in temporary housing due to the drinking water crisis. Healani Sonoda-Pale, a Hawaii sovereignty activist, says many are still afraid to drink the water. Protestors have called on the Navy to speed up its plan to defuel the facility that sits above the Southern Oʻahu Basal Aquifer.
that had less than 50 days worth of stored water when Mayor Louie Trujillo declared the emergency in July. A public housing complex in the city’s East Village is reported to have dangerous levels of arsenic in the tap water, according to Residents of west Baltimore line up to receive a case of bottled water, on Sept. 6, 2022. City officials began distributing bottled water after harmful levels of E. Coli bacteria were detected in the drinking water.While the health department continues to perform leak detection and leak checks in the region, residents continue to haul water bottles and jugs home, with no insight into how long they'll be without safe water.