Abstract:
In this seminar, Dr. Osman will examine how rising rates, poor aesthetic quality, and entrenched distrust continue to undermine equity in U.S. water systems, despite the foundational role of safe and affordable drinking water in public health. He will discuss how tap water distrust, especially prevalent in minority and low-income communities, drives higher expenditures on bottled and filtered water, increases reliance on sugar sweetened beverages, and generates significant plastic waste. Drawing on a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach in four U.S. water systems, including East Palo Alto, CA, and Detroit, MI, Dr. Osman will present findings from 104 households that combined repeated sampling of 46 health and aesthetic related contaminants with resident surveys, interviews, and near daily reports on taste, odor, and appearance. Statistical models reveal that both social determinants such as income, race, renter status, education, and age and aesthetic water quality significantly shape distrust, independent of avoidance behaviors. Dr. Osman will highlight how bottled and filtered water purchases, often made to bypass unpleasant tap water qualities, accounted for 40 to 60 percent of household water spending, inflating affordability burdens far beyond conventional metrics. The seminar will underscore the need for water utilities to address the full spectrum of distrust drivers including quality, affordability, and equity to rebuild trust and ensure resilient and just water systems.
Bio:
Dr. Khalid K. Osman is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University and a Center Fellow (by courtesy) at the Woods Institute for the Environment, with faculty affiliations at the King Center for Global Development and the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. He earned his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Fellowship and a Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship. His research focuses on advancing equity and justice in infrastructure systems through community-engaged, mixed-methods research. Centering water and sanitation, his work develops measurable frameworks for water equity and socio-technical solutions to sanitation challenges, particularly in historically marginalized communities. He partners closely with community-based organizations to ensure local priorities and lived experiences shape research design and outcomes. At Osman Lab, he leads efforts to co-create just and climate-resilient infrastructure solutions