Saving Juliette/Wastewater: A Tale of Two Cities

Evey Wilson Wetherbee & Grant Blankenship (2022, U.S., 39 min.) + Sarah Franke (2021, U.S. 22 min.) + post-film discussion

When it rains water falls from the sky, soaks into the ground or runs along the surface to a sewer, and then flows into rivers and the sea. Simple, right? Wrong. For far too many people globally, the water cycle is interrupted by a lack of access to clean drinking water and/or protective wastewater infrastructure that safely moves the water away.

This pairing of films explores issues of water justice–what happens when people cannot rely on the movement of water in their communities. And while Sarah Franke’s Wastewater: A Tale of Two Cities shows how differently two neighboring Alabama communities experience runoff, with communities of color bearing the brunt of injustice, Evey Wilson Wetherbee’s Saving Juliette shows that even white, middle class communities are increasingly in jeopardy of losing access to safe water systems, as the community of Juliette, Georgia confronts the political power of Georgia Power to prevent proper oversight of toxic waste threatening town wells. In both stories, communities are galvanized to confront injustice and to find allies who can help make clean water and wastewater a right for all, regardless of race, class, or location!

Following the film screening, we hosted a post-film discussion panel about a lack of water justice and access to safe drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, including the ways this access does not fall neatly along socioeconomic lines. Speakers included:

• Emily Pakhtigian, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Penn State (Moderator)
• Leslie Ford, Doctoral candidate in Biobehavioral Health, Penn State
• Christine Kirchhoff, Associate Professor of Engineering Design and Innovation, Penn State

(Shown in partnership with the Penn State Water Council)