Central Coast

Central Coast residents have struggled with unsafe drinking water for many years. Recognizing this need, CWC opened our Watsonville office in 2018. Contaminants like nitrates, Chromium-6, and 1,2,3-TCP are found here in very high levels. We’re working with residents to share information about their water quality, test their water, provide safe bottled water at home now, and forge partnerships with residents and government agencies on projects to provide safe tap water for years to come.

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Community Power

Our priorities started with door knocking in low-income areas with known contamination; organizing residents for immediate access to safe, delivered water; and building relationships to advance long-term solutions. In 2019, CWC helped establish a community-based group in northern Monterey County called El Comité Para Tener Agua Sana, Limpia, y Económica (the Committee for Safe, Clean, and Affordable Drinking Water) which has successfully advocated for bottled water delivery and funding to explore a long-term solution to widespread contamination in the community.

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Safe Water Projects

Those living with water contamination need both immediate access and long-term water security via clean water from their taps. Right now, CWC is overseeing  bottled water delivery to residents with unsafe tap water as well as developing long-term projects in Moss Landing, Springfield, the Johnson McGinnis Live Oak area and Walnut Avenue that look into options such as treatment, consolidations and new sources.

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Policy

From setting a health-protective legal limit for chromium-6 in drinking water; curbing pollution, and promoting the equitable management of groundwater, CWC engages in several policy arenas to ensure access to safe, clean and affordable water for Central Coast communities.