Environmental injustice and Escherichia coli in urban streams: Potential for community‐led response

Abstract

Escherichia coli are fecal indicator bacteria that reach waterbodies through aging and failing infrastructure in cities. Exposure to pathogens in untreated sewage can result in gastrointestinal disease, which frequently goes unreported. In the United States, the Clean Water Act regulates point source discharges of sewage and treated wastewater, but fecal indicator bacteria remain the second leading cause of river impairment. The burden of this contamination is not equitably distributed, with Black, Indigenous, and communities of color suffering from a disproportionate burden of untreated and overflowing waste and subsequent health impacts. Regulatory failures, and even abandonment, along with the exclusion of people of color from the mainstream environmental movement, mean that new approaches are needed to help communities empower themselves to address contamination. Community-led groups that engage residents in addressing issues within and beyond regulatory frameworks have used approaches including trash traps, riparian planting and restoration, and community-led monitoring. Mycofiltration, or the use of fungi to filter pollutants from water, is an emerging and understudied method of remediating E. coli. The low cost of mycofilter installation and maintenance may give agency to communities that have been unduly burdened with sewage contamination to diminish harmful exposures in the near term, even as they continue working toward longer-term regulatory fixes. Continued research is needed to fully understand how different species of mycelium work under varying hydrologic conditions, including in-field installations, along with long-term monitoring and community acceptance to understand the efficacy and the potential impact of this strategy. K E Y W O R D SE. coli, environmental justice, remediation, sewage, urban stream | INTRODUCTIONUrbanized areas, with their high population densities and impervious surfaces, create huge quantities of fecal waste, high organic matter wastewater, and contaminated runoff from both humans and animals that can contaminate surface

Resolving the Ganges pollution paradox: A policy‐centric systematic review

“…Good policy is not only implemented by the state but also originates from community‐led initiatives where citizens work hand in hand with researchers to take charge of their own futures. Researchers working in India and elsewhere have documented many effective river pollution remediation and planning techniques that can take place at smaller scales including the use of mycofiltration to remove organic pollutants from water (Davis et al, 2022), the institution of community‐led resettlement efforts for disaster‐prone waterways (Cronin & Guthrie, 2011), participatory action research programs to help improve awareness about water pollution (Peplow & Augustine, 2012), and community‐based water monitoring designed to involve citizens and spur advocacy (Metzger & Lendvay, 2006). Much of the arsenic‐related research documented in this review (e.g., Chakraborti et al, 2016) are also predicated on community‐engaged actions such as the reinstitution of traditional water filtration methods and a return to dug wells, but similar community actions have yet to find their way into mainstream discourse.…”

Disambiguating Concepts of Fairness in Stormwater Management: A Review of Economic Efficiency and Equity

“…Davis et al. (2022) highlight U.S. Federal regulatory failures to address wastewater contamination of waterways that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.…”

“…The budgeting process can be a tool to either enforce environmental injustices or pursue spatial justice, as Koopedi (2022) describes for Ekurhuleni, South Africa, a post-Apartheid city. Davis et al (2022) highlight U.S. Federal regulatory failures to address wastewater contamination of waterways that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.…”

Centralized versus Decentralized Cleanup of River Water Pollution: An Application to the Ganges

“…Fourth, the arsenic pollution reduction efforts discussed by Chakrabarti et al (2018) [19] are dependent on community-engaged actions such as the reinstitution of traditional water filtration methods and a return to dug wells. Finally, Davis et al (2022) [20] described how mycofiltration can be used to remove organic pollutants from the Ganges.…”