Social Inequality and Access to Safe Water: Environmental Justice in Low-Resource Communities

Abstract

Providing access to safe drinking water is an important environmental justice issue in low-resource communities. Social inequality, weak infrastructure, poverty, lack of formal housing, and limited political representational work together to create unequal exposures to unsafe water. This literature review aims to demonstrate the potential benefits of safe-water access through the lens of environmental justice, highlighting how various factors cause water insecurity and its invisible impacts. Unsafe water can cause infectious diseases, child morbidity, lower educational levels, loss of production, psychosocial stress and reinforcement of the cycle of poverty. The review stresses that inequality in water is an issue of rights, participation, affordability, accountability, and community empowerment, rather just a technical or infrastructure issue. Research from poorer countries suggests that disadvantaged households typically draw water from a dirty or unsafe source, and may not be able to treat or seek alternative supply. To respond effectively we require fair policy reform, participatory governance, community monitoring, better data disaggregation, and prioritization of the vulnerable. To achieve sustainable development, social justice, and upheld public health, the safe-water inequality must be addressed