Federal Appeals Court Rules No Constitutional Right to Clean Drinking Water

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed a lawsuit filed by four Jackson, Mississippi residents—Priscilla Sterling, Raine Becker, Shawn Miller and John Bennett—who alleged that the city’s lead-contaminated water violated their right to bodily integrity under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due-process clause. In a September decision, the panel affirmed a lower-court ruling that the Constitution does not guarantee a right to clean drinking water.

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Testing by the Mississippi State Health Department between 2010 and 2013 documented rising lead levels in Jackson’s municipal supply. The plaintiffs argued that city officials knowingly allowed residents to consume unsafe water and provided false assurances about its safety. Their claim sought constitutional redress for the alleged health harms.

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Writing for the majority, Judge Kurt Engelhardt acknowledged that lead exposure is “grievous” but found no historical tradition or Supreme Court precedent linking it to a “deeply rooted constitutional right.” He distinguished the case from prior instances of governmental infringement on bodily integrity, such as forced surgery or involuntary medication, and concluded that the Constitution does not extend to every form of governmental wrongdoing. Engelhardt suggested that residents pursue political remedies—electing new representatives or petitioning local officials—rather than constitutional litigation.

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The ruling underscores that, absent specific statutory protections, federal courts are unlikely to recognize a constitutional guarantee of safe water. While several states, including California and Virginia, have enacted their own safe-water provisions, the decision leaves Mississippi residents to rely on state law or local action for redress.

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• “The Constitution does not provide redress for every governmental wrongdoing,” — Kurt Engelhardt, judge

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