ARGUMENT: Water crisisThe U.S. Water and Wastewater Crisis – How Many Wake-up Calls Are Enough?
In February, much of Texas plunged into darkness when the state’s electricity grid failed due to extreme cold weather conditions. What started as a foreseeable blackout quickly became a life-threatening calamity. “This catastrophe illustrates what happens when aging and inadequate infrastructure is hit by extreme rain or snow—an increasingly regular occurrence due to climate change,” Lucía Falcón Palomar, Obinna Maduka, and JoAnn Kamuf Ward write. “And, the matter extends well beyond Texas. It is easy to forget that, within U.S. borders, communities have long endured the conditions seen in Texas in February.”
In February, much of Texas plunged into darkness when the state’s electricity grid failed due to extreme cold weather conditions. What started as a foreseeable blackout quickly became a life-threatening calamity. The frigid temperatures cracked pipes and froze wells. To escape the frigid cold, have drinking water, and flush toilets, Texans were forced to boil snow and icicles. The extreme weather conditions and lack of basic amenities resulted in several fatal cases of hypothermia, frostbite, and carbon monoxide poisoning. More than 14 million people in Texas were affected, and lost access to clean water at the height of the crisis. At the beginning of March, there were still nearly 390,000 people who did not have water safe enough to drink in their homes.
Lucía Falcón Palomar, Obinna Maduka, and JoAnn Kamuf Ward write in Just Security that
This catastrophe illustrates what happens when aging and inadequate infrastructure is hit by extreme rain or snow—an increasingly regular occurrence due to climate change. And like with many tragedies, Texas’ devastation became a political media spectacle. The state governor’s attempt to blame renewable energies and deny responsibility made front pages, as did the images of Texas Senator Ted Cruz who fled to warmer temperatures to avoid discomfort. Much of the coverage of Texas’ disaster within the United States expressed shock of “third-world” conditions so close to home. However, even a cursory look at the United States shows that inadequate water and sanitation are more of a norm than an exception.
What happened in Texas was both predictable and preventable. February’s blackout and the lack of water resulted from failed political leadership and poor planning at the state level. The chronic lack of disaster preparedness and the move to deregulate the Texan electric grid ignored years of warnings from scientific and energy experts.
The disaster laid bare a widespread, yet still largely invisible, human rights crisis within U.S. borders: the lack of access to adequate sanitation and clean water, which impacts health and life expectancy, and makes housing uninhabitable.
And, the matter extends well beyond Texas. It is easy to forget that, within U.S. borders, communities have long endured the conditions seen in Texas in February. In most instances, the challenges precede climate change. But climate change is turning the water and sanitation crises into a state of emergency.
Like Texas, the federal government has ignored calls to improve water and wastewater systems. For decades, the American Society of Civil Engineers has graded national infrastructure. In 2021, the United States scored a C- for drinking water and a D+ for its wastewater infrastructure. Between 2001 and 2017, a D+ was the highest grade the United States received for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. A D grade denotes a high risk of failure and a dire need for revamping decaying infrastructure. One 2020 global environmental protection index ranked the United States behind 31 other countries, including Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Latvia, Slovenia, Spain, and the U.K. Clearly, the U.S. has been on notice that something needs to be done.
