LOW-INCOME CALIFORNIANS PROTECTED FROM WATER SHUTOFFS UNDER NEW BILL
For Immediate Release
December 5, 2022
Contact:
Paul Payne, Sen. Dodd’s office, 707-483-4874. Paul.payne@sen.ca.gov
Jennifer Clary, Clean Water Action, (707) 483-6352, jclary@cleanwater.org
Kelsey Hinton, Community Water Center, 765-729-1674, kelsey.hinton@communitywatercenter.org
Lauren Ahkiam, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, lahkiam@laane.org
Michael Claiborne, Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, (559) 753-4353, mclaiborne@leadershipcounsel.org
LOW-INCOME CALIFORNIANS PROTECTED FROM WATER SHUTOFFS UNDER NEW BILL
Senator Dodd introduces SB 3, which if passed, will extend critical water shutoff protections to low-income households across the state.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and a group of statewide community advocates for water affordability announced new legislation today to protect low-income households served by small water systems from losing access to drinking water. The bill would require that all community water systems in the state provide notice and opportunity to enroll in a payment plan, among other common sense protections, before shutting off residential water service. These requirements are already applicable to most residential water customers in the state, but do not currently apply to households served by water systems with 15-200 connections. This bill is critical to help ensure that all Californians maintain access to drinking water regardless of the size of their community or water system.
“Access to water is a fundamental right and we must ensure the tap does not get turned off just because someone falls behind on their bills,” Senator Dodd (D-Napa), said. “This proposal enhances my previous legislation by covering people in smaller, rural communities who are struggling financially. It will allow them to continue using water for drinking, cooking and necessities such as washing clothes while they get caught up on missed payments.”
Access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation is a human right and essential to public health. (AB 685, 2012.) In 2019, the most recent statewide shutoff data available, at least 500,000 Californians lost access to water due to shutoffs with Black and Latinx households twice as likely to be disconnected as white households. Without policy change these problems will continue to worsen, as the cost of drinking water statewide continues to outpace the rate of inflation. No one should have their water shutoff due to inability to pay, and this bill extends basic protections to households served by small water systems.
Advocates across the state had this to say:
“Low-income households should never have to choose between paying their water bills and other basic necessities like food and rent,” said Susana De Anda, Executive Director of Community Water Center. “Water is an essential human right, and CWC is grateful for Senator Dodd’s continued leadership on this issue.”
“California is the 5th largest economy in the world, yet ranks third in the nation for cost of living,” said Jennifer Clary, California Director for Clean Water Action. “Water affordability is a statewide crisis affecting both rural and urban communities, and it requires a solution that puts into place reliable and effective shutoff protections.”
“Residents of small low-income communities, neighborhoods, and mobile home parks deserve the same basic due process protection as those living in larger communities,” said Michael Claiborne, Directing Attorney with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “It is common sense that struggling Californians must, at a minimum, have adequate notice and access to a payment plan before losing access to essential drinking water.”
“All Californians should have access to water, no matter where they live or what size their water system is. This bill will protect low-income customers of small systems from shutoffs, advancing the human right to water. ”- Lauren Ahkiam, Director of the Water Justice LA Campaign for Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
Extending water shutoff protections is common sense legislation to continue access to this resource no one can live without. As we continue to advance solutions to make water more affordable, CA needs policies like Senator Dodd’s SB 3 to protect our state’s most vulnerable households. SB 3 now heads to the Senate Rules Committee for referral.
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