The Biden administration wants to address water quality and lead problems, but experts say that officials will have to work hard to persuade people to switch back to tap water
“Problems in one place erode trust in other places,” said David Switzer, a water quality and public policy researcher at the University of Missouri.
Already, 20% of adults nationally say they don't drink tap water — filtered or not — up from 14% before the Flint crisis, according to a study of federal survey data. The figures are higher among Black adults, with 35% saying they avoid drinking tap, up from 25% before Flint. Among Hispanic adults, the figure rose to 38%, up from 27%.
Though the vast majority of the country’s water systems report that they meet federal health standards, problems such as elevated lead levels and health violations happen more often in lower-income areas that are predominantly Black or Hispanic, Switzer said. And if residents feel their local government is indifferent to their needs — a problem especially prevalent in Black and brown communities — that can foster distrust in drinking water, according to experts.
Though it hasn’t had a lead scandal, city surveys indicate that residents avoid the tap because of health concerns and taste. Among Black residents in 2021, more than 60% said they mostly drank bottled water, compared with 42% of Philadelphia’s residents overall. The percentage of residents relying on bottled water declined after the campaign, but it rose again last year.For some, the Flint crisis reinforced suspicions that public officials are indifferent to Black and brown communities. Michigan officials had switched the city’s water source to save money and initially downplayed the problem before the facts emerged and it became a major scandal.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says no amount of lead is considered safe for children.
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