March eNews: Flooding Updates, Key Drinking Water Bills, and more
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Dear Supporter,
California continues to be impacted by historic atmospheric river events. Due to decades of neglect, low-income communities of color are vulnerable to flooding on top of drinking water concerns.
Thousands of Californians have been forced to evacuate their homes. Last month, residents of Alpaugh and Allensworth in Tulare County were told to leave before roads became impassable and isolated their communities. In Monterey County, the entire town of Pajaro was flooded after an insufficient levee broke and now residents are working to clean the debris, mud and mold from what is left of their homes.
Community resiliency is on full display in response to recent flooding, but we shouldn’t demand so much from already burdened residents. We know years of drought will be followed by extreme wet seasons due to climate change. We need to proactively protect our communities by investing in modern water infrastructure to meet their needs for drinking water, waste water and floods.
To help those impacted by flooding navigate local resources, we’ve created a flood relief hub in Spanish and English. Please share it widely.
Adelante,
Susana De Anda
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Drinking Water Protections Move Forward at State Capitol
Our policy team spent March advocating for three key bills which will extend critical drinking water protections. Check out our full 2023 Legislative Agenda here!
Senate Bill 3 (Dodd) passed out of committee and now heads to Senate Appropriations. This bill would ban water shutoffs due to lack of payment for the state’s smallest water systems. AGUA Member Raquel Sanchez traveled to Sacramento to advocate for these important protections. CWC’s Senior Policy Advocate shares more on this bill!
Assembly Bill 664 (Lee) passed out of committee and now heads to Assembly Appropriations. This bill would protect tenants who rely on a private well and whose landlord refuses to take part in a long-term water solution, such as consolidation. If the landlord declines to join a safe water project, they would be legally responsible for providing safe drinking water to their tenants. Hear from CWC’s Policy & Legal Director and the bill author on the importance of this legislation!
Assembly Bill 805 passed out of committee and now heads to Assembly Appropriations. If a community’s public water system is providing unsafe water, it’s likely their wastewater infrastructure is also inadequate. This bill would give the State Water Board authority to allow for wastewater and drinking water consolidations with nearby public water systems to occur at the same time.
We’ll be posting regular updates to Instagram and TikTok this spring as each bill moves forward. Follow us for the latest updates!
Six SJV Groundwater Plans Rejected
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) took an important step toward protecting drinking water by rejecting six Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) in the San Joaquin Valley for their failure to keep shallow, private wells from going dry and refusing to create water replacement plans for those households. More than 1,600 wells statewide are dry, leaving some families to wait up to 20 years for relief. Failing plans which didn’t protect domestic wells - many people’s only possible source of drinking water - was the right thing to do.
“The rejected plans would mostly harm low-income people of color reliant on shallow domestic wells or community wells for their only source of water. That was unacceptable. DWR must continue listening to families who have led the decades-long fight for safe and affordable drinking water in California,” says Tien Tran, Policy Advocate for Community Water Center.
Unfortunately, some inadequate plans were approved after promises of funding a well protection program. We will continue to push alongside community leaders for accountability on these plans.
The State Water Board will now hold hearings with the groundwater agencies who created the six failed plans and require key changes to ensure these plans manage groundwater equitably.
Memorial Service for Sandra Meraz
Last January, Sandra Meraz, a founding member of the AGUA Coalition, passed away. She was a key leader in passing the Human Right to Water in California and served as the first low-income woman of color on the Central Valley Regional Water Board. Her advocacy helped to bring the community of Alpaugh, and many others statewide, closer to safe and affordable drinking water. We will continue this fight in her name. Sandra Meraz — presente!
A memorial service will be held tomorrow in Alpaugh for Sandra. A potluck lunch will be provided after the service. If you plan to join, please bring something to share. See details below:
Where: Alpaugh Memorial Building, 5516 Rd. 38, Alpaugh, CA 93201
When: Saturday, April 1 at 11 am
CWC is Hiring
Do you have a passion for environmental and social justice? Are you looking for an opportunity to work alongside those on the frontlines of the safe and affordable drinking water movement in California?
Community Water Center is hiring for multiple positions across all three of our offices:
Administrative Assistant — Visalia Office
Support day–to–day activities to ensure sustainable, efficient and effective operations of the organization and its three offices.Communications Associate — Sacramento, Visalia, or Watsonville Office
Responsible for coordinating media opportunities and providing messaging support (English and Spanish) for digital channels including email, social media and website.
Community Solutions Coordinator — Watsonville Office
Provide technical support and resources to assist residents in making informed decisions on the best drinking water solutions for their needs.
View all open positions here.
Community Resources
Low-income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)
California received $116 million in one-time funding through this program to cancel out outstanding water and wastewater debt. Recently, this program expanded to allow qualified residents to receive one-time payments even if they are current on their water bill!
If you are struggling with water or wastewater affordability, or know someone who is, the first step is to contact your water district to ask about this program. Click here for more information or call us at (559) 733-0219.
Flood Relief
Are you or someone you know impacted by the floods? See FREE flood relief resources for Monterey County and Tulare County.
Thank you to our Generous Donors!
Huge thank you to our sustaining monthly donors! Your ongoing commitment to water justice ensures everyone will have access to safe, clean and affordable drinking water.
Arden Wells, Bessma Mourad, Bob Simone, Carly Yoshida, Claire Sarraville, Claire Wilkens, Denise Heitzenroder,
Frank Lukacs, Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida, Kathryn Gilje, Kathryn Wuelfing, Kirk Demartini, Klara East,
Kristin Dobbin, Lara Cushing, Max Meyer, Paul Pierce, Sandra Hocker, Sandra Goldenberg,
Thomas Biglione, Sandra Rose, Stephen Gasteyer, Vicki Woods, Yara Pasner
And thank you to our generous donors for the month of March!
John Taylor, Jill Ratner, Isha Ray, and Celeste Cantú
Be a water champion and support safe water for all.
