Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) Program
In a culmination of more than 10 years of community activism, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 200 by Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) into law on July 24, 2019, which established the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
The Fund is a vital part of the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) program and promises to invest $1.4 billion over 10 years for safe drinking water solutions for Californians who are fighting for safe water in their communities, especially in the San Joaquin Valley.
Its passage was the result of a historic coalition that was led by community advocacy and included environmental justice, environmental, labor, public health organizations, business voices, and more.
Over the course of a nearly three-year-long campaign, more than 100 Central Valley residents travelled to Sacramento for actions, committee hearings, lobby visits with legislators and their staff, and rallies outside the capitol building.
“The fact that more than a million Californians can’t rely on clean water to drink or bathe in is a moral disgrace,” said Governor Newsom, who signed the bill in the rural community of Tombstone, CA, surrounded by community members who strongly advocated for the bill.
With this new legislation and the formation of the SAFER Advisory Group, impacted communities and allies have taken an unprecedented step toward achieving the human right to water. Now, they are doing their part to implement the fund and ensure that water projects benefit the communities that desperately need them.