Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic requires access to safe, clean water. While some Americans decry their “loss of freedom” by being told to wear a mask in public spaces, others don’t have the freedom to wash their hands with clean water.
Water is necessary for life. Up to 60 percent of the adult human body is water. Water regulates our body temperature and metabolizes and transports carbohydrates and protein in the bloodstream. Water is also necessary to wash our hands, particularly during a pandemic.
Some people in the U.S. lack either access to water or access to clean water. More than two million Americans lack running water and indoor plumbing, according to a report by Dig Deep and U.S. Water Alliance. People of color are disproportionately affected. Native Americans are 19 times more likely than whites to lack indoor plumbing. African American and Latinx households are nearly twice as likely to lack indoor plumbing.
American Rivers and River Network point out that households lacking access to water are at a higher health risk. Some households of the Navajo Nation in the Southwest drive for hours to get barrels of water. A total of 30 percent of the Navajo Nation lacks […]
Full article: Why Fixing the Nation’s Water Crisis and Combating a Pandemic are Linked
More about: Native Americans, First Nations, and treaty rights
