For generations, water and sanitation systems have quietly sustained daily life, yet aging infrastructure, rising costs, and climate pressures now expose deep inequities in who bears the burden of system failures. These burdens fall disproportionately on lower-income and communities of color, who face higher costs, poorer quality, and entrenched distrust shaped by histories of disinvestment. In this talk, Dr. Osman examines how race, power, and policy intersect with technical systems to produce unequal access to a basic human right. Drawing on community-engaged research and case studies across the U.S., he outlines pathways for centering justice in decisions that shape water and sanitation futures.

Sponsored by the Research Institute of CCSRE.