Thousands of families, mostly African American and those with limited incomes, live without running water because unaffordable rents force them to live in dilapidated buildings. This is highlighted by new research from King’s College London and the University of Arizona, published in Nature Cities, as the Trump administration proposes 90 percent cuts in federal funding for water infrastructure.
In Portland, households without access to water have grown by 56 percent since 2000, and today 72 percent of those without it live in urban areas. Since 2017, the phenomenon has expanded in magnitude and severity, particularly in Phoenix and Houston, highlighting sharp racial disparities.
According to the study authors, structural reform of housing infrastructure and support programs is needed to ensure universal access to water, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG6).
In the Great Lakes regions, the cut would hit states such as New York, Illinois, and Michigan hard, while West Virginia is projected to see an 89 percent drop in funding for water and sewerage facilities.
The study proposes improving data collection on disconnections, expanding subsidies for utility payments, banning service interruptions for struggling households, and prioritizing water connections for blighted homes.
Urgent policy and infrastructure action is needed to address a crisis that is not just about digital disconnection, but about the basic right to decent housing.
Meanwhile, organizations such as Food & Water Watch call Trump’s proposal a “malevolent neglect of public health,” denouncing the risk of privatization of water resources, with higher costs and worse services.
NACWA, the main association of water agencies, has also sounded the alarm, warning that cuts would lead to project delays, higher costs for citizens and the risk of failing to meet federal standards.
