Closing the gap
Access to safe sanitation systems is a national problem. Here’s how one M.P.H. alumnus has made it his priority.
For residents of Hayneville, Alabama, raw sewage seeping into front yards is not a thing of nightmares, but rather a distressing reality that often accompanies rain showers or storms. Due to insufficient wastewater infrastructure, many communities like Hayneville have endured human waste backing up into homes, sewage flooding yards, and stormwater collecting in community spaces and playgrounds.
More than two million Americans have limited access to safe wastewater and sanitation systems. This gap in access disproportionately impacts rural communities, individuals living in poverty and people of color. In some towns, wastewater problems have persisted for generations.
In his role as a project manager with the Environmental Protection Agency, Zach Lowenstein, a 2013 Master of Public Health graduate with an environmental health concentration, leads “Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap.” The joint initiative between the EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture directly addresses wastewater needs in underserved communities, like Haynesville, nationwide.
Lowenstein describes his role in directing this initiative.
Zach Lowenstein, M.P.H.
Tell us more about Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap.
The EPA has partnered with the USDA to jointly leverage our technical assistance resources to help historically underserved communities identify and pursue federal funding opportunities to address their wastewater needs. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $11.7 billion through the Clean Water State Revolving Funds, which is a historic amount of funding available for helping communities with both drinking water and wastewater projects.
The people in these communities, in some cases, have raw sewage in their yards from their improperly functioning wastewater systems. This is a direct public health threat, where exposure to raw sewage can have immediate negative health impacts. This initiative will help communities connect with available resources to finally address these long-standing issues. We aim to be very involved in these communities, visiting multiple times in the past year, and are committed to helping them thrive as best as we can.
What are some of the short- and long-term goals of this project?
This pilot initiative will help each participating community get the information and resources needed to identify the right type of wastewater system(s) for its needs and to position it to apply for federal funding. This is the first step toward getting safe, effective and affordable sanitation in these communities. The long-term goal is two-fold. First, seeing the communities that are applying for funding eventually get to construction and completion of their projects. And second, helping other communities with similar needs across the country, using this pilot experience as a model.
Lowenstein with Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor and infrastructure coordinator to the president of the United States. Lowenstein was invited to the White House in appreciation of his work on the “Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap” initiative. “Landrieu thanked us for all of our hard work, but also reminded us that the clock is ticking, and that we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Lowenstein said. “It has been a high honor to lead such important work.”
What is your favorite aspect of working on this program?
It has been both eye-opening and humbling to oversee an initiative like this. I have traveled to many of the 11 communities that are part of this initiative and have met with folks experiencing significant wastewater challenges in their own backyards. It is something that should not be going on in 2023 in the United States, and I am hopeful that what we’re doing in these communities will make a significant impact. To know that we are making a difference, and helping these communities get to “Step 1” of what needs to be done to finally correct these long-standing public health and environmental justice issues has been incredibly meaningful to me.
What’s great about this work for me is that it isn’t just work — this is something that directly relates to what I am interested in, which is both environmental protection and public health, as well as helping disadvantaged communities dealing with environmental justice concerns. My UF M.P.H. helped prepare me for my career with the EPA, as well as laying the groundwork for my specialty in safeguarding public health from environmental concerns.
Lowenstein speaking to one of the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap communities in Harlan County, KY.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve experienced in your career?
One of the biggest challenges in addressing inequities in wastewater access, for my first few years at EPA, was that there wasn’t a clear avenue to address these issues. With the $50 billion investment in water infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and heavy focus in technical assistance at EPA, we are now finally able to help address this very important issue, which I consider a success in itself. Despite this, it is still challenging to me knowing that we are only just scraping the tip of the iceberg. There are many obstacles to overcome in the communities we are assisting through this initiative, and there are so many other communities out there that desperately need this help.
