June eNews: Good news!
We have a lot of good news to share with you this month!
First of all, the community of East Orosi in Tulare County is taking a big step forward in getting clean water after more than 10 years with contaminated water. This is huge.
In the Central Coast, two more homes have been outfitted with 1,2,3-TCP water treatment systems as part of a pilot project in Monterey and San Benito counties.
Also, CWC has been added as a nonprofit organization to the state’s Our Promise campaign, which allows state workers to make donations to nonprofits of their choice through payroll deduction.
Our community partner Sandra Chavez, along with Tombstone community advocate Carolina Garcia, co-authored a guest commentary in the Fresno Bee, urging the legislature to invest in clean water for our communities.
And finally, bills in support of drought planning and water affordability are making great headway through the legislature!
It’s an ongoing struggle for water justice, so we must celebrate our small victories when we can.
You can read more about these stories below.
Adelante,
Susana De Anda
Co-Founder and Executive Director
East Orosi One Step Closer to Clean Water
East Orosi is one step closer to having clean water.
Residents of the Tulare County community have struggled with contaminated groundwater for more than 10 years, while their neighbors less than a mile away in Orosi can depend on clean tap water.
The region’s groundwater is contaminated with dangerous nitrates, and the small community of East Orosi simply does not have the collective resources to resolve this problem on their own.
Last year, the SWB ordered a mandatory consolidation with Orosi, to be completed by the end of 2024.
This month, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to become the manager of the community's water board. This means the town of about 500 will soon have the resources they need to finally move the consolidation forward and achieve clean water!
1,2,3-TCP Treatment Systems Installed in the Central Coast
Caption: Ruben Alcala (center) poses with family members in front of their newly installed 123-TCP treatment system in their Monterey County home.
Two more 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP) treatment systems, serving a total of three households, were installed this month in Monterey County as part of CWC’s 1,2,3-TCP Residential Treatment Pilot Project.
The systems will treat all water used within the households, removing 123-TCP to levels below California’s maximum contaminant level. 1,2,3-TCP remains in groundwater for a very long time and is known to cause cancer. Residents can be exposed to 1,2,3-TCP by drinking, cooking or showering with contaminated water.
When community partner Evelia Alcala was asked why they were participating in the project, they shared, “Because our health and the health of our kids and grandkids [pictured above] matters greatly to us.”
In addition to benefiting residents where the treatment systems are installed, this three-year project will also document costs associated with small-scale treatment of 1,2,3-TCP, which will help inform efforts statewide to address this dangerous contaminant impacting more than 575,000 Californians.
CWC Joins Our Promise State Employees Campaign!
CWC has been approved and accepted to participate in the 2021 Our Promise State Employees Campaign!
This means CWC will be listed as a certified nonprofit on the Our Promise website and in the Nonprofit Guide(NPG) during this campaign season between September and October, as well as receiving invitations to speaking and promotional events during the 2021 campaign season.
Our Promise gives state employees the right to donate to their chosen nonprofits - such as CWC - directly through payroll deduction.
Thanks to the generosity of California state employees over the last 60 years, the Our Promise initiative has shown tremendous commitment and dedication to our communities.
Thank you, California State workers!
Drought Legislation Moves Forward
Many communities in California, and particularly the Central Valley town of Teviston, are experiencing water shortages that threaten Californians’ Human Right to Water. We know that the best way to avoid critical water shortages and drought impacts, is to be proactive about our approach to drought resiliency and preparedness.
California does not currently have proactive measures in place to protect the communities most at-risk of drought impacts.
We’re happy to report that SB 552, a bill we are supporting, has made it out of its first Assembly committee with overwhelming support. SB 552 will improve local planning, increase data collection, update emergency responses, and improve statewide coordination.
This bill also puts requirements on counties to inform Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) of drinking water impacts that communities are facing, which will ensure that GSAs are aware of any potential impacts, and ensure that GSA’s water management does not cause significant and unreasonable impacts to communities’ drinking water.
Water Affordability Bill Advances
Water is the most basic form of PPE and we must keep the water flowing to ensure an equitable recovery. This month, the Legislature demonstrated great leadership by approving the state budget, which notably set aside $1 billion for water arrearage debt relief.
This funding will be a critical lifeline for the more than five million Californians who have been impacted by the pandemic and struggling with water debt.
CWC and our partners will continue to work to ensure these funds are used effectively for marginalized communities and maintaining water access, especially as the moratorium on water shutoffs will eventually be lifted. Yet, the long-term affordability issue is still left unresolved.
However, CWC has been working diligently to pass SB 222 to establish a statewide water affordability program, to finally fill this gap in our social safety net. The bill successfully passed the Senate and sailed through the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee on June 30. The bill heads next to Assembly Appropriations.
CWC in the News!
East Orosi one step closer to clean water as Tulare County moves to become administrator
"The appointment of a capable local agency to administer the community's water system and its consolidation with Oorsi is an important tool to provide the needed support to East Orosi so that residents can get one step closer to finally having safe drinking water.”
Ryan Jensen, Community Water Solutions Manager, Community Water Center
Water-poor Valley communities have rare chance to get their broken systems fixed
“For decades, California has underinvested in our drinking water systems, and people in communities like ours are paying the price.”
Sandra Chavez, AGUA Coalition Member and member of the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) Advisory Group
Carolina Garcia, resident of Tombstone Territory for 15 years and a strong advocate for clean and affordable water in her community
“In the last drought, we learned that local and state drought responses were not coordinated. Families in distress didn’t know who to call, and the state was scrambling to provide support.”
Erick Orellana, Policy Advocate, Community Water Center
See more CWC news coverage here.
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Thank you to our Generous Donors!
Huge thank you to our regular monthly donors, whose continual contributions help to sustain our long-term work toward achieving safe, clean and affordable drinking water!
Anavel Valdez-Lupercio, Arden Wells, Benigna Hernandez, Bessma Mourad, Bob Simone, Carly Yoshida, Cassie Morgan, Esperanza Pimentel, F Thomas Biglione, Frank Lukacs, Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida, Julia Emerson, Kathryn Gilje, Kathryn Wuelfing, Kelly Archer, Kelsey Hinton, Klara East, Kristin Dobbin, Lara Cushing, Leonard Sklar, Max Meyer, Paul Pierce, Sandra Hocker, Sandra Rose, Stephen Gasteyer, Temma Kaplan, Vicki Woods, and Victoria Klug
And thank you to our generous donors for June!
Anna Reade
Be a water champion and support safe water for all.
