Water quality is worst in marginalized communities
was able to obtain Austin Water service, local environmental justice organization PODER, along with Hornsby Bend and Austin's Colony residents, arecity and county leaders to use federal and state funds to improve service to their homes.
There are a lot of federal funds available to address these issues. Texas has already started to receive its $2.9 billion share of the federalfunds, which are meant to improve water infrastructure over the next five years. The IIJA requires states to distribute at least 49% of that money as forgivable loans to disadvantaged communities.
The state's criteria for defining a"disadvantaged community" is largely based on median household income – the service area's must be less than 75% of the state's – but a newfunded by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that income may not be the best determining factor in predicting who is suffering the most from water quality issues. Researchers compared how median income matched up with water quality violations reported during 2018-2020 across the U.S.
When TWDB decides where to send these IIJA funds,"they should look at a number of different parameters and see which ones apply best for them," says lead researcher on the study Bridget Scanlon."This can then aid in coming up with lasting solutions that community water systems need to fix these issues."
A SouthWest Water representatives adds that low-income customers can apply for assistance through the federal Low Income Household Water Assistance Program . Customers who don't qualify for federal assistance may qualify for help throughThis story has been updated to include responses from a SouthWest Water spokesperson.
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