Toxic Promises: How Deregulation Is Poisoning America's Water Supply

Leading up to Trump's 2024 election victory, Donald Trump campaigned (along with RFK) that America would have the "cleanest air and water on the planet." However, in practice, his policies have included the deregulation of the Environmental Protection Agency, allowing corporations to engage in environmentally harmful practices without restraint. Specifically, since retaking office, Trump has dismantled a variety of environmental protections: clean water regulations, limits on toxic PFAS chemicals, and slashed ecological budgets. What has naturally occurred is a dangerous risk of contamination across the nation's water supplies, especially for our poorest communities.

A major part of the crisis stems from Trump's rollback of the Clean Water Act. During his first term, he already removed federal protection for millions of acres of wetlands, which meant that a developer could discharge pollutants into hundreds of thousands of miles of streams without any federal regulation. Now, in his second term, Trump's administration has doubled down, stating that "states should take the lead in regulating waterways." But in practice, many states lack the budgets, staff, and political will to enforce water regulations against the same industries that lobby the same politicians into power.

Furthermore, the way the administration has handled toxic PFAS chemicals has been even more dangerous. After decades of scientific literature linking PFAS exposure to cancer and a multitude of other deadly diseases, the Biden administration finally enforced maximum contaminant levels for six of the most dangerous compounds, such as PFOA, PFOS, and GenX. But, within just a few months of power, the EPA under Trump has started to weaken the rules, extending compliance deadlines to 2031, and rescinding limits for chemicals such as GenX. Unsurprisingly, this decision, which will likely come at the cost of thousands of lives, was influenced by the chemical manufacturer and water utility lobby.

The consequences of this decision could be staggering. Now, over 73 million Americans can be exposed to unsafe levels of PFAS in their own tap water. In states like Michigan, which once had stricter standards than the federal government, the rollback will come with weaker protections, disproportionately affecting pregnant women and children.

This decision isn't just about the chemical manufacturer lobby or PFAS. It is an example of Trump's war on our own infrastructure. While 90 percent of Americans rely on publicly provided water, investment in the public sector under the administration is drastically declining. This comes at a time when increased investment is necessary. The EPA recently concluded that the U.S. faces a $625 billion investment shortfall in our water systems over the next 20 years. Across the nation, pipes are starting to corrode, old storage tanks are crumbling, and sanitation systems are faltering. As a result, lead, arsenic, microplastics, and other forms of dangerous bacteria risk entering our water supply. Biden's initiative to replace the 9 million lead service lines in desperate for renewal barely scratched the surface, replacing only 367,000 pipes before funding was frozen under Trump's EPA.

This risks creating a public health crisis. As countless studies have documented, elevated levels of lead in our water can lead to developmental harm in children. For the wider population, illnesses from bacterial contamination can spread. Cancer clusters can appear in towns where PFAS leach into groundwater. While the Trump admin may frame cuts as "efficiency," the cost of the policy falls onto the public. A deregulation of toxic exposures, if anything, will increase healthcare costs felt by the consumer, and reduce worker productivity, especially in low-income communities that rely the most on public infrastructure. Trump's deregulatory assault undermines decades of progress for environmental health.

The erosion of our most important protections on our water is also attacking our most iconic rivers. This year, the advocacy group American Rivers named the iconic Mississippi River as the nation's most endangered river as a result of chemical runoff, algae blooms, and flooding worsened by Trump's weakening of FEMA. In Virginia, the explosive and often unregulated growth of data centers has strained the Rappahannock River, and in West Virginia, mining discharge left mostly unchecked has started to ruin the Cherry River.

America's water crisis will certainly not be solved through deregulation. Nor will it be solved through modest measures. It requires a massive investment in public infrastructure, paired with regulations on corporations. Anything short of that will leave millions of Americans drinking contaminated water while corporations stand to pocket the profits.