A federal appeals court issued a decision on Sept. 4 confirming that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee a right to clean drinking water. The ruling from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower court’s dismissal of a 2022 lawsuit brought by Jackson, Mississippi residents Priscilla Sterling, Raine Becker, Shawn Miller, and John Bennett. The plaintiffs had alleged that the city knowingly permitted residents to consume unsafe water.
In their legal challenge, the residents argued that the water contamination violated their constitutional right to bodily integrity, as protected under the 14th Amendment’s due process clause. They further contended that the city failed to implement necessary measures to prevent lead from entering the municipal water supply and provided false assurances to the public regarding water safety. These claims were based on testing performed by the Mississippi State Health Department between 2010 and 2013, which revealed rising lead levels.
Judge Kurt Engelhardt, writing for the majority, acknowledged that the deprivation of clean water was “grievous” but concluded it did “not infringe upon any deeply rooted constitutional right.” The court expressed skepticism that the right to be free from lead-contaminated water is encompassed by the right to bodily integrity, noting that the plaintiffs failed to provide historical tradition or Supreme Court precedent to support their claim. Additionally, the court ruled that there is no constitutional right to receive “truthful information from officials during a public health crisis.”
The ruling distinguished the lead exposure resulting from city management from previous cases involving government infringement on bodily integrity, such as forced surgery, involuntary medicating, or assault. “The Constitution does not provide redress for every governmental wrongdoing,” Engelhardt wrote. He suggested that residents should pursue alternative remedies, such as petitioning the government or electing different representatives. While neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Mississippi state Constitution provides a right to clean water, the court noted that several states, including California and Virginia, have established protections for access to safe water.
