Abstract
Previous evidence has identified potential racial disparities in access to community water and sewer service in peri-urban areas adjacent to North Carolina municipalities. We performed the first quantitative, multi-county analysis of these disparities. Using publicly available data, we identified areas bordering municipalities and lacking community water and/or sewer service in 75 North Carolina counties. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the relationship between race and access to service in peri-urban areas, controlling for population density, median home value, urban status, and percent white in the adjacent municipality. In the peri-urban areas analyzed, 67% of the population lacked community sewer service, and 33% lacked community water service. In areas other than those with no black residents, odds of having community water service (p<0.01) or at least one of the two services (p<0.05) were highest for census blocks with a small proportion of black residents and lowest in 100% black census blocks, though this trend did not hold for access to community sewer service alone. For example, odds of community water service were 85% higher in areas that were greater than 0% but less than 22% black than in 100% black areas (p<0.001). Peri-urban census blocks without black populations had the lowest odds of community water service, community sewer service, and at least one of the two services, but this difference was only statistically significant for sewer. Peri-urban areas lacking service with no black residents were wealthier than 100% black areas and areas with any percent black greater than 0%. Findings suggest two unserved groups of differing racial and socioeconomic status: (1) lower-income black populations potentially excluded from municipal services during the era of legal racial segregation and (2) higher-income non-black populations. Findings also suggest greater racial disparities in community water than community sewer services statewide.
Highlights
The introduction of water and sewer services to the United States in the early 20th century drastically reduced the incidence of waterborne disease
The North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center (NCREDC), which focuses on economic strategies in North Carolina’s rural counties, created the water and sewer pipe shapefiles used in this analysis
New statewide data collection procedures are needed to prepare updated estimates of access to water and sewer service that cover all of North Carolina and that reflect current conditions
Summary
The introduction of water and sewer services to the United States in the early 20th century drastically reduced the incidence of waterborne disease. Underbounded communities in North Carolina are often located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of municipalities. ETJs extend one to three miles from municipal limits depending on municipality size [16]. Despite their close proximity to municipal boundaries and the municipal zoning power over these areas, municipal governments are not required to provide city services (including water and sewer service) to households in the ETJ, they may choose to do so. The ETJ is used to represent peri-urban areas adjacent to North Carolina municipalities containing communities that may be underbounded and lacking community water and sewer services
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