Massive water supply problems have plagued Americans before. In the past year this crisis has cost many lives
News Front has previously reported that the United States is unable to provide citizens with a quality centralized water supply. As the majority of networks in the states are private, their owners do not hurry to repair them, squeezing all possible resources out of them.
At the same time, water rates have become unaffordable for many citizens. From 2010 to 2018, the combined cost of water and wastewater services in the United States increased by an average of 80%. For example, in Tucson, Arizona, the average annual water bill increased by 119% to $869. In San Diego, the average bill in 2018 was $1,416.
American water suppliers are fighting the debtors with standard methods – disconnection of water supply. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, when basic hygiene was crucial, the consequences of such punitive measures were tragic. Yet the authorities have not bothered to impose a national moratorium on water shut-offs.
According to a study by Cornell University and national advocacy group Food & Water Watch, a legal ban could have prevented about half a million cases of coronavirus infection. What’s more, 9,000 people would have been alive.
Venona Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch: “This study clearly shows us that the pain and suffering caused by the pandemic has been exacerbated by political leaders who have failed to act to support water supplies for families in distress.”
Experts found that states where a moratorium was imposed by local authorities had significantly reduced the rate of spread of COVID-19. If similar policies had been adopted nationally, the number of people infected in the US would have fallen by 4% and the number of deaths by 5.5%.
Despite the obvious importance of hygiene in this situation, the US Congress has refused to intervene and has not imposed a national moratorium. Meanwhile, by the end of 2020, 211 million Americans faced the threat of having their water supply cut off because they were unable to pay their bills.