October eNews: State Water Board Orders Mandatory Consolidation for East Orosi
Tuesday, Nov. 3 is election day. Being engaged in our democracy is a critical component to creating the change we want to see. So if you already voted, great job! And if you haven’t, there’s still time! Just be sure to make a plan to vote and make your voice heard. You can visit the Secretary of State’s website for voter information.
In other news, we were excited to see that the State Water Board issued a mandatory solution for the community of East Orosi this month!
Also this month, CWC participated in addressing the State Water Board about how access to drinking water for families and small water systems is being impacted during this time, and why it’s so critical that we have better data on that for future preparations. Because to be clear, we cannot have an equitable COVID recovery if our communities are experiencing mass water shutoffs.
You can read more about these updates below.
These are hard times, as we all too painfully know well. But the way forward could not be more clear. It will require listening to community voices even more and moving into action towards building a better, more equitable future.
Adelante,
Susana De Anda
Co-Founder and Executive Director
State Water Board Orders Mandatory Solution for Central Valley Community Denied Clean Water for Years
Benedicto Cazares, center, has been fighting for clean water for his East Orosi community.
After more than a decade of East Orosi residents struggling without clean drinking water, the State Water Board on Oct. 27 took a huge and critically necessary step by issuing a mandatory consolidation order for a neighboring district to connect East Orosi to safe water, ushering in the long-overdue promise of safe drinking water for the marginalized Tulare County community.
“I am happy to see this sign of progress and that we will accomplish what we’ve been hoping for. But we know the struggle will continue for us to make it a reality,” said Benedicto Cazares, an East Orosi community member who has been fighting for clean water for his community.
Click here to read more.
SGMA:
125,000 Californians at risk of Losing Access to Safe Water without State Intervention
Central Valley communities who rely on drinking water wells, like this one above, are at risk if SGMA implementation does not protect access to safe drinking water.
After three years of community voices being marginalized as part of developing local groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs), the window for state and local agencies to protect access to safe drinking water for vulnerable communities is now closing rapidly.
Hanging in the balance is water supplies for more than 125,000 low-income people, especially people of color, who live primarily in the Central Valley.
These communities - who often rely on private wells or very small water systems to meet their drinking water needs - are among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be devastated when the next drought hits if so-called groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) fail in their duty to protect drinking water access throughout the implementation of SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act).
“There has been an alarming lack of progress in each GSA to address drinking water concerns for these communities,” said Justine Massey, policy advocate for Community Water Center. “The clock is ticking down. If no changes are made to these agencies’ groundwater sustainability plans now, low-income families and communities of color will end up with contaminated water - or even worse - no water at all.”
Water Affordability:
CWC Urges State to Collect Better Data on how families are impacted
CWC Policy Director Jonathan Nelson addresses the State Water Board on Oct. 9 about the need to collect better data on how families are being financially impacted by COVID-19.
Safe drinking water should be affordable for everyone. But for too many Californians, the price of water represents a heavy economic burden -- and the COVID pandemic is only making matters worse.
That’s why CWC and community members urged the State Water Board to collect better data on how the pandemic is affecting vulnerable Californians on Oct. 6. How many households are falling behind on water bills and what’s the impact to small water systems who rely on these payments? This information is critical to ensuring that we don't see a wave of mass water shutoffs for low-income families and communities of color next year.
The Board committed to collect the data by Dec 2020. Now the Board must honor its commitment to communities and collect this critical data by the end of 2020, so that CA can prepare for the threat of household water debt and mass water shutoffs next year.
More info: https://www.communitywatercenter.org/affordability-work
Tuesday, Nov. 3 is Election Day
For voter information go to: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections
Meetings and Events
AGUA Coalition Members: The next meeting will be Nov. 23, 5 - 6:30 p.m. If you are a member, call Christina at (559) 733-0219 to get the Zoom call-in info.
El Comité Members: The next meeting will be on Nov. 20, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.. If you are a member, call Mayra at (831) 500-2125 to get the Zoom call-in information.
CWC in the News!
Unpaid water bills a “pending disaster” the state is trying to head off
“The Water Board heard today from frontline communities who urged proactive action on the threat of mass water shutoffs — a crisis that could occur by next year due to unpayable household water debt once the statewide water shut off moratorium expires.”
Jonathan Nelson, Policy Director, Community Water Center
Nitrate-tainted drinking water plagues California farmworker towns, study shows
“While California has made significant advances in recent years to promote access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water for all Californians, this report shows we still have much further to go, especially for rural, low-income families and communities of color.”
Susana De Anda, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Community Water Center
“Water is life. We can’t survive without safe water. Yet the reality is that over one million Californians are exposed to unsafe drinking water in their homes, schools, and communities. This crisis disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color throughout the state.”
Mayra Hernandez, Community Organizer, Community Water Center
California’s Landmark Groundwater Law Falls Short, Advocates Say
“These plans don't have enough data on how communities will be impacted, which is dangerous. It's like driving blind and hoping nothing bad happens.”
Justine Massey, Policy Advocate, Community Water Center
How Water Justice Groups View Groundwater Sustainability Planning
“Many of the plans will allow the drinking water crisis to escalate. Recent reports have found that current plans would result in many thousands of families losing access to drinking water—as many as 127,000 more Californians could be affected. That’s not an acceptable measure of sustainability.”
Justine Massey, Policy Advocate, Community Water Center
See more CWC news coverage here.
New CWC Team Members
We are excited to introduce Annamaria Avila as our new team member! Annamaria joined our Sacramento office this month as Communications and Data Intern. Welcome aboard, Annamaria!
Safe Water Resources
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, Arohi Sharma, Bessma Mourad, Carly Yoshida, Cassie Morgan, Edward Bergtholdt, Ellen Rowe, Esperanza Pimentel, F Thomas Biglione, Jill Ratner, Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida, Julia Emerson, Kathryn Wuelfing, Kavita Vora, Kelsey Hinton, Kristin Dobbin, Leonard Sklar, Paul Pierce, Sandra Hocker, Vicente Guerrero, Vicki Woods, Victoria Klug
And thank you to our generous donors for October!
Lois Dueltgen and Sarah Fletcher
If you would like to donate to CWC, please click here!
