In the United States today, an estimated 2.2 million people live in homes without running water, basic plumbing or access to essential hygiene products. Because of aging water infrastructure and failing septic systems, tens of millions more lack adequate sanitation facilities for the safe disposal of human waste and wastewater treatment, and low-income and rural areas are disproportionately affected.
Universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) brings economic, quality of life and health benefits and plays a key role in improving nutritional outcomes, particularly among children. Without these resources, communities are at increased risk for waterborne diseases, diarrhea, worms and other parasites. Repeated water disruptions can also take a significant toll on personal finances and mental health.
To help address these urgent and growing health problems, the CDC Foundation supported six organizations working to increase public awareness of WASH issues and improve conditions in communities with limited access or unsafe systems.
Navajo Water Project staff carry a sink into a household during a home water system installation.
Brooke Floyd, co-director of the Jackson People’s Assembly, a community engagement program within PAI. With support from the CDC Foundation, the program installed 1,000 home water filters for Jackson residents after the 2022 water crisis.
In Jackson, Mississippi, contaminated water has been a decades-long struggle.
“I remember visiting my grandparents in Jackson in the 1980s, before I ever moved here, and my grandmother and grandfather boiled the water for everything,” said Jackson resident Brooke Floyd, co-director of the Jackson People’s Assembly, a community engagement program within the People’s Advocacy Institute (PAI). The institute is a community-based organization dedicated to the health and well-being of Jackson residents.
In 2022, a water crisis in Jackson left 160,000 people without access to safe drinking water for weeks. In response, PAI mobilized resources and support for residents, worked with the City of Jackson to set up water distribution sites, made bottled water deliveries and conducted wellness checks on seniors and people with health-related needs.
Today, PAI continues to send response teams to homes throughout the city to help people assess their water quality and find ways to address contamination issues.
“I saw the CDC Foundation opportunity, and I thought ‘Oh my gosh, this could save so many lives,”’ said Floyd. With support from the CDC Foundation, PAI provided information about water quality and the related health risks, distributed water testing kits and installed 1,000 home water filters for Jackson residents.
In the rural counties of west central Alabama, the local population has limited access to sewer treatment facilities. This area has one of the highest poverty rates in the country with more than 24 percent of the people living below the poverty line. Up to 82 percent of residents in these counties use on-site sewer systems like septic tanks, but the clay-like soil often causes these systems to fail, which can cost residents tens of thousands of dollars to replace. Given the lack of resources, residents often resort to unpermitted systems to dispose of household sewage, leading to a higher local incidence of intestinal parasites and gastrointestinal infections.
Staff from DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project, a community-based organization supported by the CDC Foundation, install a sink in a client’s home as part of efforts to bring clean, safe water to local residents.
“How can you live a healthy lifestyle when you don’t have clean drinking water and your sewer is running in your backyard?” said Ethel Johnson, program manager at West Central Alabama Community Health Improvement League (WCACHIL), which works to educate residents on the connection between water, health and disease.
With support from the CDC Foundation, WCACHIL led focus groups and workshops, spreading awareness at local events about the need to expand access to WASH. They also spoke with local leaders on behalf of the community, and shared stories with state and federal leaders. Overall, WCACHIL was able to reach more than 14,500 people in the area, engaging in 85 events and hosting 15 workshops.
In Tennessee, California, Alabama, West Virginia and Navajo Nation, our partner organizations have provided hygiene products, water filters, filtered water and educational materials to local communities. They built partnerships with local and federal leaders to strengthen the long-term impact of the project, and through their efforts connected many households to water systems for the first time.
These six organizations, working across the seven project sites, have had a major impact. Overall, 33,425 people received critical hygiene supplies, while 2,874 people received a new means of accessing clean water. Another 44,700 people received WASH education materials. Through the project, organizations developed 80 new partnerships, forming a bedrock of cooperation that will allow future generations to enjoy the vital health benefits of clean, healthy and safe water.
Photos courtesy of DigDeep and People’s Advocacy Institute