In 2016, we heard a ton about the water crisis in Flint. But as no one should be shocked to learn, it’s not just communities in Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s state that have been getting screwed where access to clean water is concerned. Thanks to some great local news reporting from the Lexington Herald-Leader, we’re learning today that access to clean water— or hell, any water— is a big problem in Eastern Kentucky, too:
Jessica and Tim Taylor’s prayers seem to have paid off.
The rain came. It filled the buckets that lined the outside of their home. It filled the small plastic pool by the barn they use to water the animals. But not knowing how long the rain will continue makes them anxious.
“It’s beyond stressful,” Jessica Taylor said.
The Taylors and their five children had been without running water for about a week on this cool, overcast October morning. It isn’t the first time their water has been off for days at a time, and they know it won’t be the last.
In a nation awash with technological advancements, the lives of many families in Eastern Kentucky are still dominated by the absence of one basic thing: reliable water service. Never knowing whether they’ll have running water the next day, families like the Taylors cope by collecting rainwater and relying on the generosity of friends and family to do things most people take for granted: letting the kids take a shower before school; washing the pots and pans after dinner; and scrubbing the floors after the children go outside to play.
They’re one of many families affected by crumbling water infrastructure across Central Appalachia, where long outages often leave customers without running water for days or weeks at a time.
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Their water provider, the Martin County Water District, has been the subject of heavy scrutiny from state regulators for years because of its leaky water lines, which lose nearly three out of every four gallons of water the district treats before it can reach customers; poor water quality and reliability; and shoddy financial management. Local officials have warned at multiple times this year that the district was just weeks away from financial collapse.
With more than $1 million of debt and, at times, barely enough money to meet payroll, officials said financial mismanagement in prior years has led the district to its current crisis.
In November, the Kentucky Public Service Commission, which regulates most Kentucky utilities, issued an order approving a permanent rate increase that makes the average bill 25.7 percent higher than it was in March. The state also approved two additional surcharges to help the district fund repair projects and pay down its debt, bringing the average customer’s total increase to 44 percent.
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In 2013, the Taylors paid about $35 a month for water. Now, their bills are closer to $90.
Like many Martin County Water District customers, they’re upset about recent rate hikes. They don’t think it’s fair to pay so much for water they often don’t get, and for water they don’t believe is fit to drink. On top of their water bill, they and other families spend even more money on bottled water and disposable plates and utensils.
In 2016, Martin County voted for Trump by 3,503 votes to Hillary’s 363 votes. So it is solidly Republican. And Kentucky is obviously also represented by the Senate Majority Leader, who you’d think might use his position to try to rectify this situation.
You would be wrong.
McConnell had the opportunity at the beginning of this Congress to try to advance an infrastructure bill, which could have got federal money to this Water District and enable it to do necessary repairs and improve water quality without big rate hikes for residents who clearly cannot afford them ($90 for water that doesn't even show up half the time is a lot, especially if you’re living on $30,000 a year).
But what has his priority been? Stacking the federal bench including the Supreme Court with dogmatic, activist right-wingers like Brett Kavanaugh because it’s all about remaking the federal government for a generation or more via activist, Federalist Society-rubber stamped conservative justices, not about fixing problems like this for people who realistically shouldn’t even be voting for him or Trump, but they do because Republicans are good at stirring the pot on “cultural” issues and getting people to vote against their economic interests.
It’s just the latest, greatest example of Republicans ignoring their own voters to relentlessly pursue their own right-wing agenda.