This path was created by Gwen Connor.
Danger Where No One Suspects: Implications Behind State Government has Reacted to Water Contamination in the San Joaquin Valley
Sandra looked into her mothers death and found that their well water was very contaminated. She has been an advocate for her community and those suffering like them for almost 20 years, and access to clean water has still not been achieved for Poplar, California. She also made it her mission to educate people on water contamination, as many in their community did not know about it. This is only one of many stories from people just like Sandra Garcia. All throughout the San Joaquin Valley there are issues with water contamination. Recently water contamination has been studied by scientists and doctors and has been linked to stomach inflammation, weakness, headaches, cancer, nervous system disabilities, miscarriage, and many other health conditions. These effects usually don't happen immediately, but occur after a while of drinking the water and can affect a person for the rest of their lives. The lack of information on water contamination for the people living in contaminated areas is also to blame.
In this research I wanted to find more about how the government has been involved in this situation and how their inadequate actions have been disproportionately affecting some of the population more than others. More than half the population of the San Joaquin Valley is non-white and a quarter is below the poverty line. So I argue that this lack of successful government involvement is due to environmental racism and perceived unimportance of the poor.