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Water Equity

 

Overview

GreenLatinos believes that Latino communities have a right to access clean, healthy,  reliable, and affordable water for drinking, recreation, economic stability, and community health. We also believe that clean and healthy water is vital to a healthy environment. Water is a human right and unfortunately, Latino/a/x communities and other historically marginalized and underserved communities lack access in disproportionate ways.

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 To this day millions of people are without safe, clean, and affordable drinking water throughout the U.S. and many are in Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, and other communities of color as well as low-income communities. Our infrastructure is aging, and it will take billions to replace in the next twenty years. As federal funding for infrastructure is decreasing, utilities are raising their prices and water is becoming unaffordable in low-income communities and communities of color. Moreover, to this day, more than two million people in the U.S. lack basic access to clean water, and our Latino/a/x communities are twice as likely to lack complete plumbing in their households. There is a clear need and a lack of federal funding to protect clean water for the most vulnerable in our community. While our nation's water is under threat, now more than ever, our Latino/a/x community needs to be at the forefront to advocate for equitable policies that protect our water and the basic human right to access it. 

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GreenLatinos and our water equity core priority are addressing these issues through awareness, advocacy for strong policy, investment, and outreach in communities. GreenLatinos' work on water equity seeks to advance our Latino/a/x communities through infrastructure investment, access to clean water for rural and urban communities, addressing water affordability, and advancement of racial equity.

Water Equity Collective

The Water Equity Collective at GreenLatinos focuses on the current issues and opportunities in and around water-related issues. The Water Equity Collective seeks to address and advocate for water equity, affordability, and accessibility.

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The collective focuses on these efforts through sharing information and resources, uplifting and learning from our Latino/a/x experts and leaders in the water sector, and taking direct, intentional, and meaningful action.

Achievements

Providing Leadership for the Water Equity Climate Resilience Caucus and the Clean Water for All Coalition 

 

​We continue to advocate at the federal level for investments in a pilot low-income water assistance program at EPA, distribution of at least half of SRFs in grants and state matching reduced loans, replacement of lead service lines, and remediation of PFAs in drinking water. 

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Trump's Navigable Waters Protection Rule known as the "Dirty Water Rule" was vacated nationwide and EPA has put out a statement that has halted implementation. More recently EPA announced a proposed rule to re-establish the pre-2015 definition of Waters of the United States. We continue to engage to ensure the just and equitable protections of our waters under the Clean Water Act. 

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