Fifty years of federal regulation have made American drinking water safer—but not equally safe.
Manny Teodoro, a professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and member of the Water & Health Advisory Council, says decades of data reveal persistent disparities. Small and rural systems, lower-income communities, and communities with larger nonwhite populations continue to experience poor drinking water disproportionately.
Teodoro calls that environmental injustice—and argues that continued noncompliance with drinking water standards can no longer be treated as routine.
The Madison Declaration calls for equity to be built into rulemaking, enforcement, investment, pricing, and implementation. Its goal is not simply to adopt stronger policies, but to ensure those protections reach communities historically left behind.
By the Safe Drinking Water Act’s 100th anniversary in 2074, success should no longer depend on a community’s size, wealth, or racial makeup. The standard must be safe, affordable, reliable, and sustainable water everywhere.
Learn more about the Madison Declaration and the Next 50 Years of the Safe Drinking Water Act: https://lnkd.in/eFmTxW7V
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