Date of Award
5-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School
College of Science and Mathematics
Department/Program
Earth and Environmental Studies
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Cortni Borgerson
Committee Member
Danlin Yu
Committee Member
Pankaj Lal
Committee Member
Kyle Whyte
Abstract
Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right, regardless of an individual’s background. Yet, discriminatory practices in the United States have disproportionately burdened Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) with contaminated sources of water. Understanding how and why water is disproportionately contaminated in areas with increased diversity, and identifying and targeting areas of environmental injustice, are essential steps for ensuring future water equity. Here, I examine the drivers of inequitable access to clean drinking water within the northeastern United States. In chapter one, I look at the historical drivers of land inequity within the United States. Chapter two examines the current status of water quality, who is most affected by water contamination, why water quality burdens are not borne equally, and what their effects are. I then examine whether Indigenous communities in the northeastern United States are inequitably burdened by environmental and human contamination in chapter three. Finally, in chapter four, I explore how Environmental Justice (EJ) tools differently identify overburdened communities, which indicators drive these differences, and how indicator choice affects community identification. I find that: (1) a lack of legal right to control the drinking water quality in one’s home (i.e., through renting) best predicts whether a municipality’s water supply is contaminated by heavy metals, (2) Indigenous people, regardless of state or federal recognition, are disproportionately burdened by groundwater superfund contaminants caused by intentional releases and spills of oil and gas, and (3) current EJScreen indicators identify a subset of overburdened communities (i.e., low-income BIPOC renters), and can be strengthened through the inclusion of additional indicators. This comprehensive examination of interrelated environmental and socioeconomic variables helps ensure that the needs of BIPOC communities are equitably met and suggests how best to expand inclusive environmental justice policies.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Cade, Rae, "Water Justice and Equity: the disproportionate effects of pollution on Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color" (2024). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1464.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1464
