This research examines the intersection of environmental injustice, water quality violations, and racial and socioeconomic disparities in metro Atlanta’s water service areas. Utilizing Social Vulnerability Index themes in regression models, a significant positive association was found between community vulnerability and water quality violations (p = 0.04) after accounting for water service area population size. Our findings highlight the disproportionate impact of water quality violations on marginalized communities that increase water insecurity, influencing the water cost burden in metro Atlanta. This study advocates for localized, community-centric research methodologies, emphasizing the importance of the Water Cost Burden Survey in understanding and addressing these disparities. Ultimately, this research advocates for targeted strategies and policies to address the systemic inequities affecting urban drinking water quality, contributing significantly to the environmental justice discourse.