Senators Baldwin, Collins Take Action to Help Provide Clean Drinking Water for Rural Communities – Urban Milwaukee

Report on the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Legislative Action for Clean Water

A bipartisan legislative proposal, the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act (Healthy H2O Act), has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Tammy Baldwin and Susan Collins. This initiative directly addresses the critical need for safe drinking water in rural communities, aligning with several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

The act proposes a grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide funding for water testing and treatment technology. This measure is designed to empower individuals and non-profit organizations in underserved areas to identify and mitigate water contamination.

Advancing SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

The core mission of the Healthy H2O Act is to realize the objectives of SDG 6, which calls for ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. The legislation targets this goal through several mechanisms:

• Target 6.1: Safe and Affordable Drinking Water: The act aims to provide direct financial assistance for the purchase and installation of point-of-use or point-of-entry water treatment systems. This makes safe water accessible and affordable for households that are not served by centralized water systems capable of removing modern contaminants.
• Target 6.3: Improving Water Quality: By funding water quality testing, the act helps identify the presence of harmful substances. It then facilitates the reduction of contamination through proven treatment technologies, directly addressing pollutants such as:
  1. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, PFOA, PFOS)
  2. Lead
  3. Arsenic
  4. Nitrates
  5. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  6. Hexavalent chromium-6

Promoting SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

The legislation is a direct response to public health crises stemming from contaminated water, thereby supporting SDG 3. By removing dangerous chemicals, the act seeks to protect community health, with a particular emphasis on safeguarding children from developmental and long-term health risks associated with these contaminants.

Furthermore, the Healthy H2O Act is a significant step toward achieving SDG 10. It specifically focuses on rural communities with populations under 10,000, which often lack the financial resources and infrastructure of larger municipalities. By targeting these underserved areas, the legislation works to reduce the inequality of access to the fundamental resource of clean water.

Fostering SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The introduction of the Healthy H2O Act exemplifies SDG 17, which encourages partnerships to support the achievement of sustainable development. This is demonstrated through:

• Bipartisan Political Support: The bill is co-sponsored by senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties, with companion legislation introduced in the House of Representatives, indicating a cross-party consensus on the importance of water security.
• Multi-Stakeholder Coalition: The act has garnered extensive support from a broad coalition of non-governmental organizations and industry associations. This diverse group includes the Water Quality Association, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, the National Groundwater Association, and numerous other national and state-level organizations committed to water quality and public health. This collaboration is vital for effective implementation and achieving lasting impact.

Analysis of the Article in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

• The article’s central theme is the “Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act,” which directly aims to provide “clean drinking water for rural communities.” The entire initiative is focused on ensuring that “the water coming out of their faucets is safe to drink” by addressing contamination from chemicals like PFAs.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• The article explicitly links contaminated water to health risks, stating the goal is to “reduce health-based contaminants” and “keep our families healthy.” Senator Baldwin notes that chemicals in the water “endanger our health, especially for children,” directly connecting the initiative to public health outcomes.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• The legislation specifically targets “rural communities” and “small communities” that “lack the resources” for water testing and treatment. Senator Baldwin emphasizes that the act ensures these communities “aren’t left behind,” highlighting an effort to reduce the inequality in access to basic services between rural and other areas.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• While focused on rural areas, the goal aligns with making communities sustainable and livable. The act targets communities with a population “under 10,000,” aiming to provide a basic service—safe drinking water—which is essential for the environmental health and sustainability of these smaller population centers.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• The article showcases a multi-stakeholder partnership. The legislation is a “bipartisan” effort between senators from different parties. Furthermore, it lists extensive support from a wide range of organizations, including non-profits (“Rural Community Assistance Partnership”), industry associations (“Water Quality Association,” “Plumbing Manufacturers International”), and community groups, demonstrating a broad coalition working towards a common goal.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.

   • The “Healthy H2O Act” directly supports this target by aiming to provide grants to make water testing and treatment technology affordable for individuals and non-profits in rural communities, thus improving access to safe drinking water for populations that are currently struggling.

2. Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials…

   • The article identifies numerous “health-based contaminants” such as “lead, arsenic, nitrates, … PFOA, PFOS,” and others. The proposed grants for “water quality improvement systems” are designed to “remove or significantly reduce contaminants from drinking water,” directly contributing to improving water quality at the point of use.

3. Target 6.b: Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.

   • The act empowers local communities by providing grants “directly to individuals and to non-profits in rural areas.” This approach strengthens local participation by giving residents the resources and autonomy to test their own water and implement treatment solutions.

4. Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.

   • The initiative’s stated purpose is to “reduce health-based contaminants” and “protect public health.” By providing access to technology that removes dangerous chemicals from drinking water, the act directly aims to mitigate the illnesses caused by water contamination.

5. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all…

   • The legislation specifically targets “rural communities” with populations “under 10,000” that are often underserved. By providing financial assistance, the act aims to include these communities in the benefits of safe water infrastructure, ensuring they are not “left behind.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Implied Indicator: Number of grants provided for water testing and treatment systems.

   • The article states the act would “provide grants for water quality testing and the purchase and installation of…water quality improvement systems.” Tracking the number of grants disbursed to individuals and non-profits in rural communities would be a direct measure of the program’s reach and implementation.

2. Implied Indicator: Level of specific contaminants in drinking water.

   • The article mentions the need for “water testing” to identify contaminants like “PFAs, lead, arsenic, nitrates,” etc. The results of these tests, conducted before and after the installation of treatment systems funded by the grants, would serve as a direct indicator of improved water quality and progress towards reducing health-based contaminants.

3. Implied Indicator: Number of rural communities and households served.

   • The act targets communities with a population “under 10,000,” and the article notes “Wisconsin has 714 towns that have populations under 10,000.” An indicator of progress would be the number of these targeted communities and the number of individual households within them that benefit from the grants, showing the extent of access being provided.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: urbanmilwaukee.com