US appeals court rules the constitution does not guarantee a right to clean water
A federal appeals court dismissed a Jackson, Mississippi lawsuit over lead-tainted water, ruling clean water is not a constitutional right.
A US federal appeals court has ruled that the constitution does not guarantee a right to clean water, upholding the dismissal of a 2022 lawsuit brought by residents of Jackson, Mississippi, over contaminated drinking water.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Jackson residents — who cited high lead levels and other contaminants in their water supply — were seeking recognition of constitutional rights "lacking any foundation in the history and tradition of our nation." The court said residents had other legal avenues available, including tort claims or seeking better representation through elections, and noted that state and federal officials have spent years working to fix Jackson's water system.
The decision comes against the backdrop of a separate, ongoing NAACP complaint alleging that Mississippi state officials diverted federal drinking-water funds earmarked for Jackson — a majority-Black city — to whiter communities, and a related lawsuit filed in 2025 against state officials over the same allegations.
The court did acknowledge "serious government misfeasance" in its ruling and said it was "sympathetic" to residents' injuries, but concluded that sympathy alone could not turn the claims into constitutional violations. Jackson's mayor, John Horhn, welcomed the dismissal, saying the city remains "committed to the health, safety, and well-being of every Jackson resident."
Reporting by Victoria Bekiempis, The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/08/mississippi-clean-water-case-constitutional-right
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
