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Scores of U.S. communities are facing health risks and worsening household conditions tied to wastewater systems that can fail to meet pollution limits, and the Trump administration has moved to cut programs and grants aimed at helping places that advocates say are most affected. The Associated Press reported that while the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Biden administration promised hundreds of millions of dollars to address aging water infrastructure, much of that support has been rolled back during President Donald Trump’s return to office.

AP said the scope of the infrastructure problem is large. It reported that at least 17 million Americans are served by roughly 1,000 wastewater systems nationwide that discharge to local waterways while violating federal pollution limits, leaving residents exposed to consequences that include water and public-health risks. AP also reported that the most severe cases cluster in rural areas with systems that have consistently and repeatedly violated clean water rules.

Within that broader picture, AP reported that at least 2.7 million Americans are served by the most troubled systems, which it described as concentrated in rural places where customers earn, on average, nearly $12,000 less per household than the U.S. average. AP tied those funding and maintenance constraints to a pattern where systems “wither” when communities cannot afford upkeep, and it noted that some rural areas lack sewers or functioning septic systems altogether.

AP also reported that projected needs are growing. It said flooding and water-quality needs over the next two decades have ballooned to at least $630 billion, based on federal data AP reviewed. The article said some communities have struggled as population has shifted and fewer residents remain to sustain expensive infrastructure, while others face structural barriers that include limited utilities, staffing, and engineering capacity.

As an example, AP described Shaw, Mississippi, as a majority Black town that has lost 40% of its population and most of its businesses and now cannot afford necessary sewer upgrades. AP said sewers can back up into homes during heavy rains and cited research that found 38% of children tested in a 2023 study had intestinal parasites such as hookworm, and 80% had high levels of intestinal inflammation.

AP reported on specific steps the Trump administration has taken at the federal level affecting support for communities dealing with those risks. It said the administration eliminated the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice office, which had been aimed at addressing the problem of pollution that often falls harder on poor and minority communities. AP also reported that the administration killed grants for infrastructure and climate adaptation, including grants earmarked for underserved communities.

Among the examples AP cited were a $14 million grant to install septic systems in majority-Black Alabama counties where residents often have to pipe sewage from their homes onto their own property. AP also reported a $20 million grant—nearly half of which was to address aging sewer lines in historically Black neighborhoods in Thomasville, Georgia—was canceled after the EPA said the effort did not align with administration priorities.

In a statement, AP reported, the EPA said the Biden administration’s focus on a “radical agenda” that included environmental justice was contrary to the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. AP also reported that Catherine Coleman Flowers, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, criticized the decision to cut grants associated with a DEI label, saying attacking grant money because it carries a DEI label is missing how severe wastewater problems are in some places, and calling the issue a “health and dignity” concern.

Despite the changes, AP reported that some major financing sources remain. It said that in November, the EPA announced $6.5 billion for wastewater and drinking water projects through a loan program, plus another $550 million that would be handed to states, and it also pointed to a smaller U.S. Department of Agriculture program that supports these needs.

AP reported, however, that the poorest communities could find it harder to access those programs. It quoted Sri Vedachalam, a water and climate expert at Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, saying many struggling communities lack the money, staffing, or expertise to complete the studies, engineering reports, and extensive applications needed to secure funding. Advocates, according to AP, also said the Trump administration canceled tens of millions in funding to centers that provided help, while the EPA responded that it still funds technical support to rural, small, and tribal communities.

Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan, and Wildeman from Hartford, Connecticut.