Racism Destroyed This Town’s Water Supply, So They’ve Found A Tech Solution
A prominently Black farming town in the US has been left with no access to clean water due to racist policies, forcing the residents to turn to technology to develop water on their own.
According to a report by KQED, Allensworth, a town in California, has been denied access to clean water after the pumps on a few of the city’s water wells failed. Even though the system is quite old and more prone to breaking, not much has been done to help the community in this area.
Founded in 1908, Allensworth was the first town in California to be founded, financed, and governed by African Americans. A mere ten years later, the community had been destroyed by white farmers and large corporations, with water being one of their primary weapons. And today, over a century since its foundation, water is still an issue for Allensworth residents.
100 years of water troubles
The community’s ongoing battle with water has been a widespread challenge throughout California since the early 20th century. As more Black people flocked to Central Valley, more established – primarily white – local farmers decided to take control of the state’s water supply.
According to historians, as Allensworth’s water supply issues continued, a local community promised to dig wells and build the town’s water system. The organization ended up violating its contract and drilled fewer than half of the wells. However, they were able to drill enough wells for Alpaugh, a nearby prominently-white community.
“You would think it’s just water, but it’s a necessity – to use a restroom, to wash, to do anything,” said resident Contreras in an interview with KQED. “When we were kids, there was no AC. [So] you sat in those leather seats and sweated profusely, and you were happy about it.”
“Water has always been an issue here in Allensworth,” said Sherry Hunter, president of the Allensworth Community Services District, who manages the town’s water system in Contreras.
Today, the town relies on the remains of the depleting aquifer, and it is contaminated with arsenic.
Using solar technology
Despite the state declaring that safe and affordable drinking water is a human right under state law, nearly a million residents still don’t have access to it.
So, after decades of investigating and implementing new technologies, residents of Allensworth have finally been able to evaluate an innovation that generates quality drinking water from the sky.
Residents now rely on a tap in the town center to access clean, arsenic-free water, which is powered by a hydro panel system created by Arizona-based renewable drinking water company, Source.
The hydropanels use the sun’s warmth to draw clean, pollutant-free water vapor out of the air through water-absorbing material and into a reservoir inside the panel. They also allow residents access to safe, reusable water powered by technology with no extra hassle.
The hydropanel system has only been made possible by the town residents and unpaid volunteers who have teamed up with partners to raise grant money due to getting no extra support from their local government.
The technology is expensive and each hydro panel only produces about a gallon of water a day, but it is an important temporary measure. Allensworth is exploring longer-term solutions like arsenic removal tech with the University of California.
As California’s drought issue continues to worsen, scientists are looking to Allensworth as an example of what a water-deprived community can do to ensure a long-standing water supply is made.
