America's Public Water Housing Crisis

The Jacob Riis Houses, a NYCHA complex, where there had been a scare over high arsenic levels detected in the water (John Penney/Shutterstock)

Author: Maham Sajid

School: Midwood High School

Publication Date: July 28, 2023

The overall quality of public housing water is at risk and the level of cleanliness has decreased dramatically in the US. Many recent reports have shown that the levels of arsenic, a naturally occurring element that can be found in oceans and rivers, that makes its way into our bottled waters, drinking water, or any public water supply system, has increased heavily.

The sudden increase in arsenic levels in public housing water is a danger to our society and risk to people's health, as an over exposure can lead to sickness such as vomiting, stomach pain, headaches, and can even go as far as developing cancer, skin lesions, and death. However these extreme risks are usually developed or gained by long-term exposure.

The pipes that provide this water that has these tremendous amounts of arsenic, are connected to several other buildings and homes, spreading possible illness and endangerment to a large variety of people.

Recommended steps to approach this? Simply, avoid cooking, drinking, or the over-consumption of tap water until your housing complex is rest assured free from an overly high amount of arsenic in your water system. Many residents in the past have been asked to allow their water to flow out and run for around a few hours to be able to flush out any containment to eliminate the possibility that it is present in that specific housing or building's pipes.

A temporary lab set up test the water at a NYC public housing complex after an arsenic scare. The water has since been cleared for drinking (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Many complaints by residents have been made such as, seeing an usual color, or smelling an unusual odor from the tap water that never occurred before. Others complained that when they tried to receive bottled water from the DEP to help with the lack of usage of the tap water, they had run out and were unable to have water in their houses, which is a clear necessity as they have no other choice. This is especially difficult for those residing in low income communities as they are forced to live in these buildings, due to their financial state.

The lives of several residents are not only being risked but they're also being denied the access to a basic necessity, water. If no further progression is made in dealing with this issue, many residents will continue to suffer and possibly risk obtaining illnesses from long term exposure.

Authorities hand out bottled water during the arsenic scare in a NYC public housing complex (Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)

RESEARCH, NOTES, OR BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Goldstein, Joseph. “Initial Tests Showed Arsenic in Water at N.Y.C. Housing Complex.” The New York Times, 5 September 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/nyregion/nycha-riis-houses-arsenic-nyc.html. Accessed 24 July 2023.