Water Insecurity in West Virginia

Keywords: water, vulnerability, environmental justice, mapping
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 38

Abstract

This research examines water insecurity in West Virginia. I investigate the relationships and patterns of water insecurity regarding particular communities that were developmentally neglected and subject to increased Safe Drinking Water Act Violations. With this research, I discovered that there is a correlation between communities of color, ethnicity, and language vulnerability related to slow and inadequate enforcement of safe drinking water. In this study, I used data visualization methods on ArcGIS Online Story Map to analyze factors such as socioeconomic standing, employment, toxic release inventory, safe drinking water violations, and environmental justice communities. This analysis aimed to highlight counties and communities that are most susceptible to contaminated drinking water. With this research, I formulated a platform to serve community members in West Virginia called WV Waterlink. WV Waterlink aims to democratize water resources management, governance, and equity in the mountain state by including citizen and community participation in the decision-making process around water security and climate change adaptation. In order to do this, communities need to be knowledgeable about the state and vulnerability of this critical resource and for whom water resources are currently being managed. Waterlink is compiled of in-depth county-level story maps that provide an analysis of safe drinking water, floodplains, injustices, and how to respond to crises related to water in West Virginia.