A US Court has ruled that there is no constitutional right to safe drinking water, affirming the dismissal of a lawsuit against the city of Jackson, Mississippi. The lawsuit alleged that the city's lead-contaminated water violated residents' rights, but a judge disagreed, stating that such deprivations do not infringe upon any deeply rooted constitutional right. However, in at least nine US states and over a dozen countries, including Uruguay, South Africa, and New York, clean drinking water is protected by law or enshrined in the constitution. The ruling comes as the Trump administration moves to weaken clean-water-related protections.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
On Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the city of Jackson, Mississippi, which alleged the city knowingly let residents drink lead-contaminated water.
asserted
residents → affirm → water
The lawsuit, first filed in 2022, says the contamination violated Jacksonians’ constitutional right to bodily integrity.
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contamination → file → integrity
Donald Trump-appointed judge Kurt Engelhardt disagreed.
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Engelhardt → appoint → ?
“The Constitution does not provide redress for every governmental wrongdoing,” Engelhardt said.
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Engelhardt → provide → wrongdoing
“Defendants’ actions allegedly deprived Plaintiffs of clean water and guileless information.
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actions → deprive → water
These deprivations, while grievous, do not infringe upon any deeply rooted constitutional right.”
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deprivations → infringe → right
That may be true in Mississippi—but on the state level in at least nine US states, and in more than a dozen other countries, clean drinking water is in fact a protected right.
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water → protect → fact
In countries including Uruguay and South Africa, a right to clean water is enshrined in the constitution.
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right → include → constitution
New York’s state constitution, as of a 2021 amendment, states that “each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”
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person → state → air
So too in Massachusetts, where “the right to clean air and water” has been constitutionally protected since 1972
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right → protect → 1972
But according to the Fifth Circuit ruling, the US constitution is too narrow for such a claim.
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constitution → accord → claim
The Jackson plaintiffs alleged that their city government deliberately withheld information about the water’s toxicity, and exacerbated the problem through a series of boil-water notices—a practice that can eliminate some bacterial contamination, but also concentrates lead in water.
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that → allege → water
Engelhardt stated there is no “constitutional right to truthful information from officials during a public health crisis.”
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Engelhardt → state → crisis
Jackson is more than 80 percent Black and has a poverty rate that is more than double the national average.
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that → have → rate
In 2015, officials from the Mississippi State Department of Health found elevated lead levels in the water supply.
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officials → find → supply
Instead of immediately informing citizens, they remained silent about the issue for six months, according to reporting from Grist, while residents continued drinking toxic water.
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residents → inform → water
EPA officials ran a series of tests in 2020 and found “persistent and concerning violations” of water safety policy, including leaks, corrosion, and high lead levels throughout the system.
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officials → run → system
But no city, state, or federal agencies fixed the problem.
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city → fix → problem
Meanwhile, people including Jackson plaintiff Priscilla Sterling continued drinking water with unsafe levels of lead.
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people → include → lead
According to the 2022 lawsuit, several of Sterling’s children have since been diagnosed with lead poisoning, which can cause permanent brain damage.
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which → accord → damage
The Fifth Circuit ruling comes as the Trump administration moves to weaken clean-water-related protections.
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administration → come → protections
Also on Friday, Trump’s EPA released a supplemental rule to further dilute the Clean Water Act, quickly condemned by environmental watchdogs.
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EPA → release → watchdogs
“The administration is clearly struggling to craft a rule that will hold up in court while satisfying their donors’ desire to effectively scrap these protections wherever possible,” said Jim Murphy of the National Wildlife Federation.
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Murphy → struggle → Federation
“One thing is clear: If we don’t protect our streams and wetlands, the cost of dirtier drinking water and increased flooding will flow downstream to households at a time when most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.”
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Americans → protect → paycheck
