Proposing Water Clean-Up Projects in Georgia\u27s Low Income Areas

Marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation through a phenomenon called environmental injustice (sometimes referred to as environmental racism as well). This can be observed in the context of many environmental issues, but one of the most prevalent around the world is access to clean, safe water. Georgia is no stranger to this problem, and my aim is to demonstrate the connection between pollution and lower-income communities in Georgia, as well as present potential locations for clean-up projects in low income areas. By comparing maps of the groundwater pollution in Georgia and different average incomes in Georgia’s US census block groups, it can be seen that most of the high pollution areas in the state are also areas with lower average household incomes. When looking at a list of Georgia’s “Dirty Dozen” (the most polluted bodies of water in the state), it can also be seen that many of them are located in low-income areas. Among these are the Ocmulgee River and the Altamaha River, both of which are consistently on this list almost every single year. I am presenting this information not only to spread awareness for this issue, but also to bring the KSU community together to help clean-up some of these polluted bodies of water in areas that do not necessarily have the means to do it alone