Analysis of Health Impacts and Policy Solutions
- Anecdotal evidence suggests that African American communities in extraterritorial junctions at the fringes of North Carolina towns and cities have been denied access to nearby municipal services, including connections to municipal water supply systems, putting the population at risk of adverse health effects from consuming contaminated water.
- This project provides the first systematic identification of communities in extraterritorial jurisdictions in NC, lacking access to municipal water service. It provides the first statistical analysis of the role of race in access to municipal water service. Preliminary results for Wake County reveal that African American communities are significantly less likely than white communities to be connected to a municipal water supply system.
- Public health practitioners in North Carolina can use the information to advocate for the elimination of disparities in access to municipal water services in communities within extraterritorial jurisdictions of cities and towns.