This past holiday season, we’re grateful for the strides made this year toward every Californian having access to safe, clean and affordable drinking water. We could write pages on the exciting work accomplished, but thought we’d leave you with a few highlights instead!
More than $2 Billion in Funding for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water!
$1 billion for the more than 1.5 million Californians behind on their water bills during the pandemic
$1.3 billion for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure improvements for low-income communities
Critical funding like this makes the human right to water one step closer for our communities!
Drought Resiliency Bill Passes
In addition to connecting impacted community partners to drought relief resources, CWC and community advocates pushed the Drought Resilient Communities Act (SB 552) to the finish line. This bill will help ensure small and rural communities are better prepared for drought through better local planning, data collection, emergency responses, and statewide coordination. As climate change leads to more severe droughts in the West, planning is key to ensuring our most vulnerable communities do not lose access to running water — a basic human necessity.
Innovative Projects for Safe Water Now
The contaminant 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP), which remains in groundwater for a very long time, is known to cause cancer, liver and kidney damage, as well as other health impacts. This year, CWC installed three 1,2,3-TCP treatment systems, serving a total of four households, in Monterey County as part of CWC’s 1,2,3-TCP Residential Treatment Pilot Project. Next year, more households will be part of this groundbreaking project, which removes 1,2,3-TCP at the household level reducing harmful exposures now, as well as collecting valuable cost and feasibility data that will help support statewide efforts to address 1,2,3-TCP contamination impacting more than 575,000 Californians.
CWC is a nonprofit dedicated to addressing the most challenging drinking water issues facing California.