What is one of the most important essences in sustaining human life, water. To some, to
be able to go to the tap and fill up a cup to drink is part of everyday life. It’s something that they
never think twice about, while for others, it is a daily struggle. For the people in the Bay Area,
more so in East Palo Alto’s, this is a struggle that they have been facing for years. The area with
the injustice of the allocation of water in the area have been limited in their prosperity and more
so in their economic growth. Initially this crisis originated due to three factors: political,
economic, and racial.
The most common person within the community would essentially be a person of color
with a low income. Due to those factors, the area was outspoken and taken advantage of by the
neighboring communities regarding the land-use around them and other things such as the water
allocations in the area. Moreover, those same people that basically did not give East Palo Alto a
say in this economic injustice are the same ones that instituted industrial uses in the area that
polluted toxin in all aspects of their lives. This led them to underdeveloped areas economically,
because they were unable to expand their area. There are some actions that need to take place not
only for the survival of this town, but for the help of fellow citizens that do not deserve this
injustice.
One solution that I propose for them would be to evenly distribute the load. Although
there are several actions that need to take place, for the most part in order to rectify the past, the
surrounding areas should pitch in to helping the community of East Palo Alto have better
drinking water. This will allow them to be able to have the water from the water allocations of
the surrounding areas that are already not being used. In addition, this allows them to not have to
shut down the factories in order to maintain production and the work force. Another solution that
I propose is the rebuilding of factories in the other areas and towns in the Bay area. This will
allow for the workforce and all the negative outcomes of factories to be lessened in East Palo
Alto, like pollution for example. Lastly, my third solution would be for the other communities to
either have charity organizations or fellow members of the community come and help tear down
these places so that the area could expand and thrive economically. Overall, East Palo Alto has a
long way to go before this environmental injustice can be rectified.
