US court rules 150,000 Mississippi residents have no constitutional right to lead-free water

For residents of Jackson, Mississippi, the question is simple yet difficult to answer: can people expect the water flowing from their taps to be safe to drink? A federal appeals court has now delivered a striking legal answer: not as a constitutional right. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the US Constitution does not guarantee Americans a right to clean drinking water, rejecting a lawsuit brought by residents of Jackson over years of problems with the city's water system. The decision upheld a lower court's dismissal of the case.What did Jackson citizens allege?The case was brought by a group of Jackson residents in 2022, who alleged that the city allowed lead to enter the municipal water system and then lied to residents saying the water was safe, though they knew it was not. “Knowing what is in our water is fundamental to protecting public health,” Caroline Leary, general counsel at the U.S.-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group, told Mongabay by email.Jackson is home to roughly 150,000 people. Nearly a quarter of them are children under 18 who are particularly vulnerable to the potentially lifelong toxic impacts of lead exposure including seizures, lowered IQ...