Unsafe drinking water is a reality for nearly a million Californians, especially in Central Valley, new audit finds
Nearly a million Californians have unsafe drinking water and the agency charged with helping them is ill-equipped to do so. That’s according to a new state audit of the California Water Resources Control Board, which says 920,000 residents are at increased risk of liver and kidney problems — and even cancer — because they get water from systems that fail to meet contaminant standards for safe drinking water. The auditor says more than 800 water systems in the state are in that “failing” category, a number that has more than doubled in the last year.