GOVERNOR NEWSOM CALLS FOR LOW-INCOME RATE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR WATER

For Immediate Release

August 11, 2022

Contact:

Pedro Calderón, Community Water Center, (720) 838-1401, pedro.calderon@communitywatercenter.org  

Lesly Figueroa, Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, lfigueroa@leadershipcounsel.org

GOVERNOR NEWSOM CALLS FOR LOW-INCOME RATE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR WATER

ANNOUNCEMENT ARRIVES AS CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES RALLY IN SUPPORT OF ACCESS TO SAFE AND AFFORDABLE WATER AND SEWER

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - As dozens of community members rallied for the Human Right to Water at the State Capitol on Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his support for a low-income rate assistance program to make water bills more affordable for low-income Californians. The Governor’s announcement arrives as lawmakers prepare to vote on SB 222, California’s first low-income water assistance program. 

“Today, community residents from across California called on the Legislature to pass SB 222 and establish the first-in-the-nation low-income water rate assistance program,” said Susana De Anda, executive director and co-founder of the Community Water Center. “Governor Newsom recognizes that people shouldn’t have to choose between drinking water and other basic needs. We are encouraged by the Newsom Administration’s commitment to solving California’s water affordability crisis.”

“Low-income households and communities are increasingly struggling to pay for water and sewer as costs rise above the cost of inflation,” said Michael Claiborne, Directing Attorney for Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “It is a moral imperative that the Governor and Legislature pass and fund SB 222 to ensure that water is affordable and accessible to all.” 

At Thursday’s rally in Sacramento, community members from across California’s San Joaquin and Eastern Coachella Valleys spoke of water bills costing upwards of $100 per month, while others told stories of purchasing bottled water to meet basic needs. The issue of affordable water galvanized community activists and residents from Kern, Fresno, and Tulare counties, and the East Coachella valleys —regions that have struggled for decades without clean, safe, and reliable water. Concerns have grown as families struggle to pay bills as inflation has grown amid the pandemic. 

In the Administration's water plan released August 11, California’s Water Supply Strategy, Governor Newsom called for new investments for water affordability for low-income households. The Governor noted that low-income assistance programs already exist for electricity and telecommunications, and that a comparable water program must be “workable and sustainable” from a state budget perspective.  With a budget surplus this year, water advocates are urging lawmakers to commit at least two years of funding for SB 222 to make water more affordable for all. 

“Water rates have risen exponentially over the past few decades as the federal government has reduced its water infrastructure spending, shifting costs to ratepayers,” said Jennifer Clary of Clean Water Action. “Now is the time to act to address this affordability crisis.”

In 2019, before the pandemic started, 500,000 Californians had their water shut off due to lack of payment. Since then, California has provided one-time funding for two programs to help low-income households with unpaid water bills: the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Program (2020) and the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (2021). While these programs have helped thousands of families, they do not provide ongoing assistance, and have not reached everyone in need, since both require utilities to opt in, and many small water systems have not done so. 

“Affordability is crucial for working class communities and communities of color throughout the state including urban areas like Los Angeles and Southeast LA cities,” said Lauren Ahkiam, director for water campaign for Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy. “To ensure equitable water access for all, we need investments in sustainable water infrastructure and programs that ensure affordability.” 

Ten years after recognizing the Human Right to Water, lawmakers have a chance this year to make a huge leap forward in delivering on that promise by passing SB 222 and appropriating funding to implement a low-income rate assistance program.

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• 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