News from rural America.

Barriers for Americans with disabilities are still common in both rural and urban communities. The expansion of detention centers across the country could hurt rural economies. And deteriorating water infrastructure is costing Eastern Kentuckians.

TRANSCRIPT

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, this is the news from rural America.

People with disabilities face numerous barriers to getting services.

A study looking at 11 specific roadblocks suggests those are similar in rural and urban communities.

Author Alexis Swendener is with the University of Minnesota's Rural Health Research Center.

We found more differences by disability status than we did across rural and urban areas.

Previous research has shown common barriers to rural care, inaccessible buildings, longer travel distances, and a lack of specialized providers.

Urban residents with disabilities report more financial or logistical problems, though both populations reported delaying medical care due to the expense.

Swendener says it's important to understand the prevalence of barriers across regions.

A lot of times we don't necessarily think about wider barriers among people with disabilities for various reasons related to structural inequalities and drivers of health.

Between 40 to 70 million people in the U.S., 12 to 20 percent have a disability.

The Department of Homeland Security's expansion of immigration detention centers may be hurting rural economies.

Anya Patron-Slepian explains.

As the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement, DHS is purchasing commercial warehouses to detain migrants.

Daily Yonder data editor Sarah Mallott says that's happening everywhere, but could hit the tax base in rural areas hard.

Once a property is federally owned, it becomes tax exempt, stripping income from municipalities and school districts that might rely on an already thin tax base.

DHS recently bought a warehouse in rural Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

Malat says opponents worry it'll overwhelm the local sewage system,

creating problems for the county and inhumane conditions for detainees.

The state warns that the facility would violate public drinking water and pollution laws.

Meanwhile, the community would have less money to upgrade the infrastructure.

Local losses for the community are expected to top more than $1 million in annual tax revenue.

I'm Anya Patron-Slepian.

State and local governments used to get federal money to help maintain clean drinking water.

But in the past 50 years, federal investment in water treatment infrastructure has dropped by more than 60 percent.

In eastern Kentucky, that's led to issues with water affordability and access.

Nina McCoy with Martin County Concerned Citizens says residents in the Appalachian region have repeated supply outages and unaffordable bills.

Just trying to fix an old dilapidated system is just not within the ratepayers of our community's ability.

And so we are fighting for getting more infrastructure funding and help for the citizens who can't afford the water.

A 2020 study found nearly half of drinking water samples from Martin County households had cancer-causing chemicals.

For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, I'm Roz Brown.

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.