Each year, one million Californians are exposed to unsafe drinking water. Approximately 300 water systems – spanning every region of the state –
fail to meet safe water standards. Contaminated water is a public health disaster – putting Californians at risk for cancer, birth defects, heart disease, diabetes and infant mortality.
To fix California's toxic taps crisis, community, health, labor, and business organizations and families living with contaminated water have come together to support legislation to create a sustainable Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
On July 24, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation providing a source of funding needed to maintain safe, affordable water systems that serve our most vulnerable communities up and down the state. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund Coalition members joined the governor in the Central Valley to mark this historic moment, noting "As Governor Newsom’s signature closes one chapter in our historic march toward justice, it begins a new phase in which communities will be vigilant that these funds are used swiftly and surely to realize the human right to safe, affordable drinking water across California.”
“Governor Newsom’s signature on SB 200 is a historic moment for the communities across our state who have worked for decades to secure the human right to safe, affordable drinking water. Through tireless work, organizing, advocacy and education, they raised awareness of and demanded justice for the one million Californians living with toxic taps."
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About 1 million Californians lack access to safe drinking water, according to the governor’s office. “The fact that more than a million Californians can’t rely on clean water to drink or bathe in is a moral disgrace,” Newsom said in a news release. “Parents shouldn’t have to worry about their kids drinking from the water fountain at school, and families shouldn’t have to dump water over their heads to shower every day.”
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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed into law the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund bill in the tiny Fresno County community of Tombstone Territory — where residents rely on bottled water because the water from their private wells is contaminated. Starting next year, Senate Bill 200 will provide $130 million annually to clean up drinking water in California communities like Tombstone that lack access to safe water.
Read More"As a region and a state we’re going to have to think creatively about how we transition to an ethical and sustainable economy," says @LCJandA #SGMA #NoToxicTaps
https://t.co/W6qTn8wWWT
To achieve safe drinking water for all, we need groundwater management plans that protect #cawater. #SGMA implementation must protect our drinking water at its source: . @CA_DWR #NoToxicTaps https://t.co/ow4IlNnkAK
OTHER VOICES: Health of our families, communities depends on safe water
California took a historic step forward this summer with the passage of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. This fund seeks to provide new ta...
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ICYMI: We can knit together labor and environmental concerns. We cannot have business as usual, where agricultural water usage runs amok and wrecks communities and our environment. #SGMA must protect communities. @CA_DWR #NoToxicTaps #HumanRight2Water
https://t.co/hhZ1yQcQcI
The success of the Safe & Affordable Drinking Water Fund depends on protecting drinking water w/ #SGMA. @CA_DWR #NoToxicTaps @Bakersfieldcali https://t.co/37fJbULFwz
