Cultivating Communities. Building Capacity.

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More than 11.5 million Californians rely on water supplies that faced at least one violation of State Drinking Water Standards. As many as 8.5 million of us rely on supplies that experienced more than five violations in a single year. In far too many communities, whose sole water supply is contaminated, families unable to afford treatment are often left entirely without safe water. The Central Valley and Central Coast regions, where more than 90% of the communities rely solely on groundwater, are at particular risk.

In addition to public health threats, Californians are faced with rising water bills to treat contamination and upgrade old infrastructure, which if neglected could even offset the benefits of treatment. California does not have a universal statewide lifeline water rate or allocation – similar to our lifeline rates for energy and phone service – so when costs become excessive, families cannot pay their bills and, thereby, they risk losing water service entirely.

•Action Now
•La Asociación de Gente Unida por el Agua (AGUA)
•AGUA Youth Breast Cancer Action
•Bus Riders Union
•California Community Against Toxics
•California Environmental Rights Alliance
•California League of Conservation Voters
•California Nurses Association
•California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
•California Teachers Association
•California for a Safe Environment
•Californians for Pesticide Reform
•Catholic Charities – Stockton Diocese
•Center for Environmental Health
•California Safe Schools
•Clean Water Action
•Clean Air Campaign
•Comité Civico Del Valle
•Comité Pro Uno
•Committee for a Better Alpaugh
•Committee for a Better Seville
•Community Health Councils
•Connective Issue
•Consumer Federation of California
•Del Amo Action Committee
•El Quinto Sol de America
•Fort Ord Environmental Justice Network
•Federation of Retired Union Members of Santa Clara County
•Friends of the Los Angeles River
•From Lot to Spot
•Green LA Coalition
•Heal the Bay
•Jose Gamboa – Visalia Mayor
•League of California Cities - Latino Caucus
•League of Women Voters of California
•Los Angeles Creek Freak
•Maywood Unido
•Movement Generation
•Mujeres de La Tierra
•Natural Resources Defense Council
•Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
•Pacoima Beautiful
•Padres Unidos de Maywood
•The Plainview Mutual Water Company
•People for Parks
•Pesticide Action Network North America
•Physicians for Social Responsibility – LA
•Physicians for Social Responsibility – Sacramento
•Planning and Conservation League
•Proteus
•San Francisco City and County
•San Jerardo Cooperative
•Santa Clara FORUM
•Sierra Club California
•Society for Positive Action
•Southern California Watershed Alliance
•TreePeople
•Unidos Para Cambio en Tooleville
•United Students of the South Coast Cities
•Vecinos Unidos
•West County Toxics Coalition
•West Goshen Mutual Water Company
•Wildcoast * Winnemem Wintu Tribe
•The Women’s Foundation of California
•Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
•AND more than five hundred individuals

AB 1242 creates a policy of the State that includes all State agencies, in addition to those agencies regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and Health and Safety Codes, that share responsibility for the quality and supply of potable water. By doing so we ensure that all agencies appreciate their role in ensuring that every person has access to clean, affordable water.

Adding a provision to the Water Code explicitly stating that access to an amount of clean water necessary for basic human needs is a “right” of every Californian and instructing State agencies, dealing with water resources, to conform their programs and practices to this policy will pave the way to ensure that every Californian will someday be able to confidently fill a glass of water from their tap and serve it to their families.

Existing Public Utilities Code Section 739.8 establishes “access to an adequate supply of healthful water [as] a basic necessity of human life, and shall be made available to all residents of California at an affordable cost.” This statute applies to all water providers regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. In addition, section 116270 (a) of California Health and Safety Code reads: “Every citizen of California has the right to pure and safe drinking water.”

Dozens of state agencies have some regulatory authority over potable water availability and quality including the Department of Public Health, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Department of Water Resources.

Unfortunately, even with existing statutes in place, many of the relevant agencies are not included in implementation. AB 1242 makes it clear that all relevant state agencies should prioritize implementation of this policy.

Maria Herrera: Clean-water bill awaits signature while entire towns go without it

By Maria Herrera

Some things never change. My community in the Central Valley still doesn't have clean drinking water, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't seem to care. Even as the governor says water is a priority, I wonder which water is he referring to. The toxic water in my town certainly doesn't seem like his priority. Read More

Central Valley continues marathon fight for clean drinking water

By Susan Ferriss

sferriss@sacbee.com

After years of effort by community activists, politicians and even young teens, the state's progress toward clean water for all is dwarfed by discoveries of more problems. Residents continue to rely on groundwater tainted by pesticides, nitrates, industrial chemicals and arsenic.. Read More

By setting a clear priority on providing clean affordable water for basic human needs, the Legislature will unmistakably focus State efforts on closing the existing gap that persists between protecting drinking water and ensuring all residents have a sufficient supply of clean water so as to sustain healthy living.

In the longer term, this bill will help identify and generate solutions to hurdles that frustrate the provision of clean drinking water to all people, including:

•Lack of long-term monitoring of drinking water quality.
•Apparent conflict between the State’s interest in ensuring public health and the view that ground water is a local issue.
•Inadequate understanding of the trade-offs and integration in decisions regarding ground water and surface water.
•Gaps in regulating the quality of ground water used largely for drinking and other personal uses.
•Inability of some communities to be self-sufficient in providing clean water due to inadequate financial resources and inappropriate allocation of costs.
•Need to ensure maximum value from the allocation and use of existing and future funding.
•Inappropriate allocation of costs to ensure a reliable supply of clean drinking water to meet everyone’s basic health needs.

City of Los Angeles passed resolution to support AB1242. See resolution below.

Regardless of socio-economic status, it is every man/woman/child's intrinsic right to clean, safe, easily accessible drinking water.

--- Ilenana Ruiz, LA Resident

Governor Vetoes the Bill. In his written statement, the governor indicates that this type of legislation could “lead to potential costly and constant legislation” as his reason for returning the bill unsigned. We are sad and disappointed that the governor would would not side with communities and the many thousands that lack access to safe drinking water in the state.

We applaud the City of LA’s and other cities and organizations that supported this bill. We will continue to push forward on this issue and to advance water justice in the state.

Cultivating Communities, Building Capacity.

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