CALIFORNIA BUDGET FUNDS RELIEF FOR CONTINUED DROUGHT CRISIS, MORE WORK ON WATER AFFORDABILITY NEEDED

For Immediate Release

January 10, 2023

Contact:

Marissa Urias, Clean Water Action, (650) 491-4311, murias@cleanwater.org

Kelsey Hinton, Community Water Center, (765) 729-1674,  kelsey.hinton@communitywatercenter.org 

Michael Claiborne, Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, (559) 753-4353, mclaiborne@leadershipcounsel.org

CALIFORNIA BUDGET FUNDS RELIEF FOR CONTINUED DROUGHT CRISIS, MORE WORK ON WATER AFFORDABILITY NEEDED

SACRAMENTO -  Today, Governor Newsom released California’s draft 2023-24 state budget, which includes $125 million in drought relief funding to address this ongoing emergency. 

Despite recent storms, communities across the state face a continued drought crisis. Last year, 1400 households lost their only water supply when wells ran dry. With the current well drilling backlog it will take over a decade for all of these families to have running water in their homes. Funding emergency solutions for these families is critical, and proactive drought contingency planning must be prioritized. 

“Waiting days for water when a well goes dry is unacceptable, much less the years that California families are currently forced to wait for a new well to be drilled. While we applaud the Governor’s continued commitment to emergency drought relief, this year we need to address the well backlog and consolidation delays to ensure no one is forced to rely on band aid measures without long-term solutions, ” says Susana De Anda, Executive Director of Community Water Center. 

“The huge rainfall and flooding we’re currently experiencing will alleviate the drought for millions of Californians; unfortunately, the long-term issue of dry wells and access to safe drinking water will not be resolved by one wet winter,” said Jennifer Clary, California Director for Clean Water Action.

Despite commitments to drought relief, today’s draft budget does nothing to address California’s ongoing water and wastewater affordability crisis. Emergency steps have been taken to stop water shutoffs due to lack of payment, but the state must proactively address affordability this year by creating a universal low-income water rate assistance program. 

“Water is unaffordable for the majority of low-income households in California, with increases in drinking water and sewer rates far outpacing the rate of inflation,” said Michael Claiborne,  Directing Attorney with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “As we face the prospect of economic downturn, the state must provide ongoing aid to struggling households to ensure that they do not lose access to essential services because of inability to pay.”   

The Human Right to Water guarantees clean, safe, affordable and accessible water for all Californians. While the commitments in today’s draft budget move the state closer to safe and accessible drinking water, we look forward to working with the state legislature to permanently alleviate the statewide water affordability crisis. 
 

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Clean Water Action is a national nonprofit founded in 1972 to promote citizen engagement and action to protect our environment, health, economic well-being and community quality of life. Clean Water Action organizes strong grassroots groups, coalitions and campaigns to solve environmental and community problems. For more information, visit our website at www.cleanwater.org or follow us on Twitter @cleanh2oca.

Community Water Center (CWC) works to ensure that all communities have reliable access to safe, clean, and affordable water. Founded in 2006, CWC is a not-for-profit environmental justice organization, whose mission is to act as a catalyst for community-driven water solutions through education, organizing, and advocacy. Web: www.communitywatercenter.org Twitter: @CWaterC Facebook: @CommunityWaterCenter

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability works alongside the most impacted communities to advocate for sound policy and eradicate injustice to secure equal access to opportunity regardless of wealth, race, income and place. We work with community leaders throughout the San Joaquin Valley and Eastern Coachella Valley on such issues as safe affordable drinking water, basic transit services, wastewater services, decent affordable housing, and the right to live free from industrial pollution with infrastructure that supports healthy lifestyles. Through co-powerment, organizing, litigation, policy advocacy, and research, we confront California's stark inequalities manifest in too many of California's low income communities and communities of color. Twitter: LCJandA FB: @lcjacalifornia IG: @leadership_counsel Web: leadershipcounsel.org