Statement from CWC Co-Founder and Executive Director Susana De Anda on Governor’s April 21, 2021 Drought Emergency Declaration:

99% of the state is now experiencing abnormally dry conditions and 94% of the state is now in drought conditions. Yet for rural communities of color in the Central Valley and Central Coast, this “new” drought is not new at all -- because many never fully recovered from the last drought and have lived with a drinking water crisis for years.

What can, and must, be new with this drought is how we respond, both in the moment and in the long-term.

The last drought crisis was worsened by a lack of pre-drought preparedness, which forced state and local officials to scramble and left families without water for months or even longer. 

Governor Newsom has been a leader on safe and affordable drinking water in California, including his leadership in passing the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. We support the Governor’s initial drought actions today and look forward to more protections being implemented for other rural counties in the case drought impacts increase in those regions. 

We also urge the Legislature and Governor to seize this moment and invest in drought-resilient infrastructure to make communities on the frontlines of California’s climate crisis, including the 1 million Californians who lack access to safe water, more resilient to future droughts and less at risk of losing water entirely. Investments in drought-resilient infrastructure must be a top state budget priority, along with efforts to address the $1 billion in water debt carried by California families -- because as the pandemic reminded us, water is the most basic form of PPE.

We additionally call on the Legislature to pass Senate Bill 552 (Hertzberg) which will create a more proactive framework for drought planning at the local level. This kind of commonsense proactive drought planning legislation cannot be passed soon enough.

Community Water Center is committed to partnering with state and local officials as we respond to this growing drought crisis.

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Community Water Center (CWC) believes all communities should have access to safe, clean, and affordable water. Founded in 2006, CWC works toward realizing the Human Right to Water for all Californians through education, organizing, and advocacy.

Web: www.communitywatercenter.org Twitter: @CWaterC Facebook: @CommunityWaterCenter