Running Dry: Can the Farm Bill Help Fix the Racial Water Gap?

Decades of disinvestment have led to racialized disparities in access to safe drinking water and effective wastewater services.

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By Amber X. Chen

4 MIN READ

Jul 20, 2023

For years, Michael Prado has provided bottled water to his neighbors in Sultana, a town of about 785 people in California鈥檚 Central Valley. That鈥檚 because most wells in town have been by runoff from agriculture, says Prado, who is president of the Sultana Community Services District. Only one well meets state standards for safe drinking water鈥攈e鈥檚 glad the town has it, but it鈥檚 not enough.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been crossing our fingers and toes that [wouldn鈥檛] dry our well up. Due to the fact that we live in an agricultural area and this is a little community, we would be devastated,鈥� he says. Prado worries that if the town鈥檚 remaining up-to-standard well dries up, even more residents will have to before using it or rely on bottled water. 鈥淲e are in dire need of a new well,鈥� he says.

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Prado鈥檚 neighbors are far from alone. Millions of people in the to safe drinking water. Rural communities of color like Sultana, which is Hispanic, are disproportionately affected by this crisis. There, some families spend up to 10% of their monthly income on water. And yet the federal government underfunds communities of color when it comes to water infrastructure, according to a recent from the , a California advocacy group.

鈥淭hese racialized disparities in access to safe drinking water and effective wastewater services are occurring because of decades of disinvestment,鈥� says Jenny Rempel, co-author of and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. In California alone, 300 towns do not supply safe drinking water to residents, the report found.

Advocates say the Farm Bill, a massive piece of legislation that is voted on every five years and determines how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disburses billions in federal funding, is a chance to finally invest in these communities鈥� water systems.

鈥淭he Farm Bill has funding that can really help address a lot of these gaps,鈥� says Susana de Anda, executive director of the Community Water Center. She says the legislation should increase investments, particularly grants, in rural Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities; fund an annual audit of the USDA to determine which communities actually receive water infrastructure funding; and push the agency to deepen relationships with community-based organizations to ensure long-neglected populations have a voice in the planning process.

鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that [low-income people of color] have been left out of water planning, and more importantly, they鈥檝e been left out of intentional funding designed for them to really meet their needs and solve the issue,鈥� de Anda adds.

When reached for comment, a USDA Rural Development spokesperson said that the administration is 鈥渃ommitted to addressing the infrastructure needs of America鈥檚 most historically underserved communities鈥� and added that the agency is 鈥渟trengthening its efforts to provide technical and financial support to BIPOC communities and historically underserved areas that need it most.鈥�

The racial and rural water gap has its roots in historic neglect. For decades, the Central Valley has attracted migrant farmworkers, many of whom were without basic resources like electricity or running water. Many of these settlements, like Sultana, became permanent, but never received municipal services.

Rural communities of color were historically excluded from being annexed into cities with utility services, a phenomenon known as 鈥�,鈥� says Camille Pannu, an associate clinical professor at Columbia Law School who has water access issues in California.

This led to communities like Sultana remaining unincorporated and lacking many public services鈥攍ike adequate wells and water treatment systems. 鈥淵ou end up having this upside-down water system where you have the lowest-income people paying the for terrible water,鈥� Pannu says. She says that weak water infrastructure often forces residents to turn to building their own private wells or purchasing bottled water.

In agricultural communities like Sultana, water isn鈥檛 just hard to access. When it comes from the ground, it鈥檚 often with nitrates, arsenic, and pesticides; these contaminants are linked to cancer and lung and heart disease, among other ailments. Treating that water to residents鈥� yearly water and sewer bills, according to a recent report from the Environmental Working Group.

Federal funds can help ease the burden, but only if these communities are able to access them, says Rempel, the doctoral researcher. 鈥淐ommunities need a lot of capacity and resources to be able to apply for and access these federal funding programs,鈥� Rempel says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge opportunity for technical assistance to start to close this gap.鈥�

Even Prado, who has worked in community services for over 25 years, says he has struggled to navigate the system of applying for federal loans and grants. 鈥淣obody really knows about USDA funding,鈥� he says.

Despite these obstacles, Prado has seen the benefits of federal assistance. In 2017, the USDA helped to fund a $2.1 million project to drill a new community well for Monson鈥攐ne of Sultana鈥檚 neighbors鈥攕upplying with safe water. That same year, Prado, with help from a local nonprofit, applied for $7 million in funding for a well in his town.

Now, more than six years later, Sultana is slated to get the new well it so desperately needs. Construction crews broke ground in May, and the well is slated for completion in May 2024.

Prado says he鈥檚 excited about the new well鈥攂ut access to clean water isn鈥檛 something he and his neighbors should have had to fight for.

鈥淚 keep telling the state what they need to do is get off their chair, come to the valley, and see all the rural communities,鈥� Prado says. 鈥淪ee what their needs are, hold outreach meetings, and start finding out what they need here. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 enough of that really going on.鈥�

This article was originally copublished in Nexus Media News with as part of a series that looks at ways the 2023 Farm Bill can help address the climate crisis. is an editorially independent, nonprofit news service covering climate change. Follow .

Amber X. Chen is a freelance journalist who covers environmental justice. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, the Guardian, and other publications. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @amberonradio. She is based in the Los Angeles area.