Takeaways from AP reporting on Trump administration cuts affecting US water systems

Scores of communities around the United States have aging and decrepit wastewater systems that can put residents' health and homes at risk.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and former President Joe Biden's administration promised hundreds of millions of dollars to address the problem, but much of that has been undone in President Donald Trump's return to office.

Some of the Trump administration's cuts have come as he has targeted diversity, equity and inclusion. Advocates say that will likely widen inequality, as many of the worst wastewater systems are in poor communities.

Here are key takeaways from The Associated Press' reporting on the issue:

Systems wither when communities can’t afford maintenance

At least 17 million Americans are served by the roughly 1,000 wastewater systems nationwide in serious violation of federal pollution limits when they discharge to local waterways. And at least 2.7 million are served by the most troubled — wastewater systems concentrated in rural areas that have consistently and repeatedly violated clean water rules and whose customers earn, on average, nearly $12,000 less per household than the U.S. average.

At the same time, flooding and water quality needs over the next two decades have ballooned to at least $630 billion, according to federal data reviewed by the AP.

Some communities have struggled as residents and industry have moved away, leaving a smaller population that simply doesn't have the money to maintain their system. And some rural areas don't have sewers or functioning septic systems at all. About 2.2 million Americans don't have adequate indoor plumbing, according to the EPA.

The result can be misery.

For example, the majority Black town of Shaw, Mississippi, has lost 40% of its population and most of its businesses, and now can't afford necessary sewer upgrades. Sewers can back up into homes during heavy rains. A 2023 study found that 38% of children tested were infected with intestinal parasites like hookworm, and 80% had high levels of intestinal inflammation.

What the Trump administration has done

The Trump administration eliminated the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice office, which worked to address the problem of pollution typically falling harder on poor and minority communities. The administration also killed grants for infrastructure and climate adaptation, many of them earmarked for those underserved communities.

For example, that included $14 million to install septic systems in majority-Black Alabama counties where many residents must pipe sewage from their homes onto their own property because it has nowhere else to go. Another example was a $20 million grant where almost half the money was going to address aging sewer lines in historically Black neighborhoods in Thomasville, Georgia. When the EPA canceled that grant, the agency said it didn't align with administration priorities.

In a statement, the EPA said the Biden administration focus on a “radical agenda” that included environmental justice was contrary to its core mission of protecting human health and the environment.

Catherine Coleman Flowers, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, said attacking grant money because it carries a DEI label is missing how severe the wastewater problems are in some places. She said those problems are a “health and dignity” issue.

What communities can do now

There are still major sources of financing. In November, the EPA announced $6.5 billion for wastewater and drinking water projects through a loan program, plus another $550 million that would be handed to states. There’s a smaller U.S. Department of Agriculture program that supports these needs, too.

But the poorest places will have a harder time getting any of that money, said Sri Vedachalam, a water and climate expert at the consulting firm Corvias Infrastructure Solutions. Many struggling communities lack the money, staffing or expertise to conduct needed studies and engineering reports and fill out extensive applications, experts said.

The Trump administration also canceled tens of millions in funding to centers that provided help, creating another hurdle, advocates say. The EPA says it still funds technical support to rural, small and tribal communities.

Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan, and Wildeman from Hartford, Connecticut.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment