(ICN) NO RIGHT TO WATER - REALLY

CHESTNUT, Alabama - For Valentino Thames, it’s become a routine. Just another part of everyday life.......

At least once a week, he makes a trip of more than 25 miles to the nearest Walmart, located in the county seat of Monroeville, to buy gallons and gallons of water—enough for him and his wife Linda to drink, cook and wash themselves until the next week, when they’ll have to do it all again.

He’s one of dozens in Chestnut, a small, majority-Black community in south-central Alabama, that lack access to public water. Like Thames, many residents are forced to travel dozens of miles to access or buy water for everything from drinking to personal hygiene, a result of private wells that are deteriorating or have in some cases fallen into complete disrepair. For years, they’ve pressured public officials without success to extend water infrastructure to Chestnut.

“I don’t understand it,” Thames said. “It seems like they come up with reason after reason to keep us from getting water. We’re trying as hard as we know how.”

Across Alabama, around 800,000 people—about 20 percent of the state’s population—rely on private water supplies, like wells, for drinking water, according to state estimates. That reality often has socioeconomic and racial implications, too.

In some places, such as Athens, just under 100 miles north of Birmingham, and Prichard, just north of Mobile, most whites have reliable municipal water and sewer service while many Black residents suffer from deteriorated or nonexistent water infrastructure.

Across the state, money and power can often determine where the water flows, experts say. And there are other risks, as a rapidly warming climate brings heat waves and drought, extreme weather and flooding. Summers, too, are simply getting hotter. As many as one-fifth of the world’s wells are at risk of drying up in the near-term, researchers have concluded.

Among public officials, Chestnut’s situation is no secret. It’s an inconvenient truth.

On Monday, residents of Chestnut attended a meeting of the town council of Beatrice, the nearest community with a municipal water supply. They hoped to get a commitment that if grant money were found for the project, Beatrice leaders would allow for a water connection and sell Chestnut residents water as they do their own citizens.

Billy Ghee represents the area on the Monroe County Commission, which is the governing body for unincorporated parts of the county like the Chestnut community. He pitched residents’ request to Beatrice town officials, who refused to allow Chestnut residents to speak. Both towns are predominantly Black. More of this article (Inside Climate News) - link - no right to water - link - more like this (drinking water) - link - more like this (Alabama) - link