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America's water crisis

A series on the challenges many in the US face getting access to safe, clean, affordable water, and the injustices to those most at risk.

25 January 2022

  • A CWA lawn sign, a man in a white safety hat by a dam

    ‘Corporate vultures’: how Americans fearing higher water bills are fighting takeovers

    Corporations are trying to privatize dozens of public water utilities around the US, capitalizing on the financial troubles of cities

27 September 2021

  • Yan Yu Lin poses for a portrait in front of her apartment building where she struggles with substandard plumbing in San Francisco’s Chinatown on August 2, 2021.

    Almost half a million US households lack indoor plumbing: ‘The conditions are inhumane’

    Renters and people of color are most likely to be living without water or flushing toilets in some of America’s wealthiest cities, new research shows

15 July 2021

  • A worker in Denver, Colorado, installs a a new copper water service line.

    The US city that proves replacing lead water lines needn’t be a pipe dream

    Newark, New Jersey, has removed more than 20,000 lead water lines while the White House pushes national plan

13 July 2021

  • Death valley

    The heatwave forcing America to confront climate reality

    An extraordinary heatwave has swept the west coast of America and Canada – bringing home the catastrophic consequences of global heating

20 May 2021

  • Bottled water at a food pantry in Detroit in March last year. Even before the pandemic, the cost of water and sewage was already a growing problem.

    Democrats unveil $30bn bill to cancel water debts and bail out utility firms

    Legislation will propose low-interest loans program for providers, allowing them to recoup money without using fines and shutoffs

28 April 2021

  • US-HEALTH-VIRUS-NAVAJO-WATER<br>Navajo Indians line up in their vehicles to collect water and supplies from a distribution point, as the Covid-19 virus spreads through the Navajo Nation, in Monument Valley at the Utah and Arizona border, May 21, 2020. - According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs,” advice it has relentlessly emphasized over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s just not possible for an estimated 30 to 40 percent of this sovereign territory’s 178,000 residents, who don’t have access to running water or sanitation. This is seen as a major reason behind the surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States’ largest Native American reservation, with nearly 5,000 confirmed infections and 160 deaths at one of the highest per capita fatality rates in the country. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

    Tribes without clean water demand an end to decades of US government neglect

    US has broken promises as Indigenous Americans lack access to safe water, a crisis worsened by Covid-19

2 April 2021

  • Haw River Water Pollution<br>January 28, 2021. Pittsboro, North Carolina. Jim Vaughn works at the Community Lunch Program at St Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Pittsboro, North Carolina. He is helping to raise awareness about the town’s water PFAS contamination issue after testing water a the church and finding PFAS in the supply. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS and GenX. They have been detected in the Haw River in quantities that give concern to nearby residents, especially the in Pittsboro where their water comes directly from the river.

    A town's water is contaminated with 'forever chemicals' – how did it get this bad?

    Testing by the Guardian and Consumer Reports found high levels of potentially harmful PFAS in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and regulators have struggled to keep pace

31 March 2021

  • water-testing-hero

    We sampled tap water across the US – and found arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals

  • Water coming out of a tap<br>concept of water saving and sustainable development

    How to test your drinking water – and what to do if it's contaminated

26 March 2021

  • Bottled water unloaded at a food pantry in Detroit in March last year. Michigan and New York state officials are under pressure to extend their state moratoriums.

    Ban on US water shutoffs could have prevented thousands of Covid deaths – study

    Researchers say half a million infections might have been stopped if more states had suspended disconnections during pandemic

4 March 2021

  • Roderick Readus carries a reusable water container outside his apartment in Jackson, Mississippi on March 2, 2021. Photo by Rory Doyle for The Guardian.

    ‘There’s no excuse for this’: thousands in Mississippi city still without water weeks after storms

    In Jackson, where 80% of residents are Black, the cold led to breakages in the city’s ageing pipes, leaving thousands of its residents without running water

28 February 2021

  • A woman fills up drinking water containers from a kiosk in Orosi.

    'It's a toxic blend': where the kids are warned not to swallow the bath water

    Predominantly Latino towns in California like East Orosi face huge obstacles getting clean drinking water

26 February 2021

  • F-16 fighting falcons on the tarmac at Luke air force base in Glendale, Arizona. The base has recommended people use bottled water for drinking and cooking but deemed tap water safe for bathing and laundry.

    Air force distributing bottled water near Phoenix base after water contaminated

  • The most heavily Latino areas of the US are violating federal drinking water rules twice as much as those serving the rest of the country

    More than 25m drink from the worst US water systems, with Latinos most exposed

25 February 2021

  • Water trickles from a fire hydrant while workers repair a broken water main in Austin, Texas, on 21 February. The majority of water and wastewater systems nationwide are also unprepared to cope with the climate crisis.

    Biden urged to back water bill amid worst US crisis in decades

    Water Act proposes massive injection of federal dollars as millions of people go without access to clean, safe, affordable water

23 February 2021

  • Ling Ling and Tom Perkins.

    I tested my tap water, household products and cat for toxic 'forever chemicals'

    The extent of PFAS contamination is only now coming into focus. Here’s what I learned from investigating my home

15 February 2021

  • Maryann Jacobs and her son, Oliver Bussey, at their home in Hoosick Falls, New York.

    ‘Am I going to regret it?': forever chemicals dilemma for breastfeeding mothers

    Many health experts and advocates say breastfeeding is the best choice for babies but the threat of passing on contamination from PFAS is prompting new questions

10 February 2021

  • Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) at an event in Detroit, July 11, 2020. (Sylvia Jarrus/The New York Times)<br>Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) at an event in Detroit, July 11, 2020. Some of Detroit’s most prominent Black leaders are backing a challenger, Brenda Jones, to Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who has gained celebrity status since winning her seat in 2018 (Sylvia Jarrus/The New York Times) / Redux / eyevine

    'We have a water crisis in our country' Rashida Tlaib on shutoffs, pollution and working in a hostile Congress

    The Michigan congresswoman represents the state’s most polluted zip code is and is sponsoring a bill to tackle the water crisis

5 February 2021

  • Water drips from a faucet.

    About America’s water crisis

    This project aims to explore the challenges many in the US face getting access to safe, clean, affordable water, and the injustices to those most at risk

2 February 2021

  • ‘For too long the burden of our crumbling infrastructure has not been equally felt.’

    I represent children in Flint, Michigan. Here's what I'm asking Biden to do

    Corey Stern
    Every single American has a right to live and work in a safe environment. President Biden can help ensure we can
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