Visualizing Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: Northeastern NJ

Keywords: water systems, lead, environmental racism, contamination
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 69

Abstract

The lead crisis in the drinking water system of Newark, New Jersey has been recognized as one of the worst environmental disasters in the US in decades. It has also been identified as a site of environmental racism. The causes of Newark's elevated lead levels highlight the financial stress that some American cities are under due to fiscal austerity. However, Newark is not the only municipality in New Jersey that has violated EPA water quality standards for lead in recent years.

This poster visualizes available data, submitted by water systems to the state Department of Environmental Protection, on lead levels in community drinking water systems in metropolitan northeastern NJ. It identifies patterns in lead contamination issues across the region and makes comparisons with some basic demographic data. The visualization serves as a starting point for a larger project to identify trends in lead contamination in drinking water across older cities and suburbs in the US, and interpret these trends in the context of racialized fiscal austerity politics.

With resources available to address lead contamination through the recent federal infrastructure act, and a commitment expressed by lawmakers to use these resources to benefit "disadvantaged communities," it is important to identify how water systems' needs are distributed across metropolitan areas.