Wednesday June 29, 2022
US News and World Report —
At least 2 million Americans don’t have running water or a working toilet at home, a crisis that costs the U.S. economy $8.58 billion each year, according to a report released Tuesday by nonprofit DigDeep.
These water access issues disproportionately impact Indigenous tribes, people of color, immigrants, low-income people and those living in rural areas — communities that have been largely excluded from past investments in water infrastructure, according to the report.
“Closing the water access gap will help correct these inequities, and directly benefit underserved communities,” the report says.
California-based DigDeep compiled the report, “Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis,” using U.S. Census and other data to estimate the price tag of life without a toilet or tap.