More than 1 million Californians are affected by unsafe or
unreliable sources of water for cooking, drinking and bathing.
They can lose access to water supplies when their wells run dry,
especially during drought when groundwater is relied on more
heavily and the water table drops. Employment disruptions caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic can impair their ability to pay water
bills on time. Communities of color are most often burdened by
these challenges.
Below you’ll find the latest news articles raising
awareness on efforts to seek water equity written by the staff at
the Water Education Foundation and other organizations that were
posted in our Aquafornia news aggregate.
Nearly six weeks after a major winter storm led to flooding and
landslide throughout Southern California, some homeowners in
Beverly Glen are still trying to return home. On Caribou Lane,
a landslide knocked a home off its foundation, and the debris
slid into the neighbors’ homes. That debris and mud left Samila
Bahsoon’s home with a lot of damage. … She has
potentially more than $600,000 in damage, and two insurance
companies already denied her claims. … She also
said when the neighbor’s home was knocked off the foundation,
the debris broke her water main. And it led to a massive water
bill. “LADWP sent me a $9,500 water bill, which is 6,500%
more than average for the last 35 years that this house has
been used,” she said.
The Biden administration will be allocating more than $120
million to tribal governments to fight the impacts of climate
change, the Department of the Interior announced Thursday. The
funding is designed to help tribal nations adapt to climate
threats, including relocating infrastructure. Indigenous
peoples in the U.S. are among the communities most affected by
severe climate-related environmental threats, which have
already negatively impacted water resources, ecosystems and
traditional food sources in Native communities in every corner
of the U.S. “As these communities face the increasing
threat of rising seas, coastal erosion, storm surges, raging
wildfires and devastation from other extreme weather events,
our focus must be on bolstering climate resilience …”
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of
Laguna, said in a Wednesday press briefing.
Gavin Newsom’s stealthy divide and conquer tactics are pushing
marginalized communities against each other in a war over
water. Newsom, his administration and State Water Contractors
are appropriating environmental justice language to sway public
opinion in Southern California about the Delta Conveyance
Project – also referred to as the Delta tunnel. They argue that
the Delta tunnel is essential for Southern California’s
disadvantaged communities, yet misrepresent the harm the
project continues to have on the tribal communities along
California’s major rivers and on communities in the Delta
watershed. Pitting disadvantaged communities from different
regions of the state against each other is a cynical strategy,
and is all the more egregious when considering it’s done in the
interest of serving only one sector of California’s economy
that these players have deemed all-important – special
interests in Southern California and portions of Silicon
Valley. -Written by Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director
of Restore the Delta.
Hastings, Minnesota, is staring down a $69 million price tag
for three new treatment plants to remove PFAS chemicals from
its water supply, ahead of new US federal regulations limiting
the amount of so-called forever chemicals in public drinking
water — which could come as early as this month. … [T]he
project amounts to a “budget buster,” says city administrator
Dan Wietecha. Operation and maintenance costs for the new
plants could add as much as $1 million to the tab each year
… Cities across the US are bracing for costly upgrades
to their water systems as the Environmental Protection Agency
moves to finalize the first-ever enforceable national drinking
water standards for PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances — a large group of man-made chemicals used for
decades in manufacturing and in consumer products.
School-age children affected by the water crisis in Flint,
Mich., nearly a decade ago suffered significant and lasting
academic setbacks, according to a new study released Wednesday,
showing the disaster’s profound impact on a generation of
children. The study, published in Science Advances, found
that after the crisis, students faced a substantial decline in
math scores, losing the equivalent of five months of learning
progress that hadn’t recovered by 2019, according to Brian
Jacob, one of the study’s authors. The learning gap was
especially prevalent among younger students in third through
fifth grades and those of lower socioeconomic status. There was
also an 8 percent increase in the number of students with
special needs, especially among school-age boys.
Allensworth is one of the testing grounds for a hydropanel that
creates drinking water out of thin air. But two years into the
program, community members say the hydropanel company has left
them high and dry while many of the hydropanels have broken
down. Allensworth has struggled with arsenic-laced
groundwater for decades. In 2021, Source Global, the company
behind the hydropanels, installed two in Allensworth to test
out the technology. Each panel generates about a gallon of
drinking water per day by condensing water vapor in the air
into liquid form. In 2022, a philanthropic organization
bought 1,000 hydropanels to be installed throughout the Central
Valley. Allensworth now has about 42 panels, according to
Source Global.
As floodwaters receded from the streets of southeastern San
Diego on Jan. 22, two things began to happen. Several local
nonprofits — not trained in disaster response — set up a victim
assistance center at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA. At the
same time, county and city officials had a series of extreme
miscommunications that delayed the opening of a government-run
assistance center within city limits for nearly two weeks,
according to letters obtained by Voice of San Diego.
Normally in the wake of a disaster, government officials open
what they call a Local Assistance Center near the disaster
site. These assistance centers connect survivors with
government and non-government resources. A survivor could get
anything from a new driver’s license to food or unemployment
benefits.
In California and across the country, household water rates
have been rising as utilities invest to upgrade aging
infrastructure, secure future supplies and meet treatment
standards for clean drinking water. As monthly water bills
continue to increase, growing numbers of customers have been
struggling to pay. New federal legislation would establish a
water assistance program to help low-income families pay their
bills and prevent shutoffs of water service. The bill,
introduced by Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, would make
permanent a federal program that Congress authorized in 2020
during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program provided more than $1
billion in assistance, but it’s expiring.
A report released by the Navy confirmed concerns that for years
have been hanging over the radiological cleanup of San
Francisco’s Hunters Point Shipyard: that rising seawater
levels, and other environmental factors resulting from climate
change, could cause toxic materials that have long been buried
at the site to surface. The study, called Climate
Resilience Assessment, was included in an ongoing review
process that the Navy must undertake every five years to
evaluate its remediation plan for the former shipyard, which
has long been a designated Superfund site. The shipyard is
also slated for redevelopment into a new neighborhood, with
cleaning efforts by the Navy and its contractors underway for
more than a decade to prepare it for reuse. The report is
the first time that the Navy has studied the impacts of climate
change in relation to the shipyard, which spans hundreds of
acres and contains radioactive waste and other contaminants.
Almost three months after a January storm and flash floods
killed several people and displaced hundreds of San Diego-area
residents, the state is offering one-time
Disaster CalFresh benefits to help families
recover. To be eligible for disaster food benefits, people
must have lived or worked in storm-impacted areas on Jan. 21,
the day record rainfall swelled creeks and rivers, deluging
neighborhoods. About 600 people sought emergency shelter.
California’s Department of Social Services said it will provide
30 days of food benefits to families who qualify.
Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) has secured $55 million in
direct funding for community improvement projects.
Fifteen projects throughout Congressional District 22 will
receive federal grants, per Valadao’s request. The big
picture: The largest project on the list is $9 million to
construct a new homeless shelter campus in
Bakersfield. … Delano’s Well 42 project will receive $6
million to fund the creation of a new city well and treatment
plant to provide clean and contaminant free water.
… Here’s a look at the rest of the projects that Valadao
secured funding for: … $1.75 million for the city of Lindsay
to replace an old main pipeline to improve water quality. $3.25
million for the Arvin-Edison groundwater recharge project to
reduce landowner’s groundwater pumping and provide in-lieu
groundwater recharge.
Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks
or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw
enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix
broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that
don’t work. … Across the U.S., trillions of gallons of
drinking water are lost every year, especially from decrepit
systems in communities struggling with significant population
loss and industrial decline that leave behind poorer residents,
vacant neighborhoods and too-large water systems that are
difficult to maintain.
Eddie Ocampo has been elected as the new chairperson of the
Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley. The Water
Blueprint is an initiative consisting of agriculture, industry,
government and nonprofit stakeholders working to develop
sustainable water management in the Central Valley.
… Ocampo is currently the Director of Community
Sustainability at Self-Help Enterprises, a local organization
that develops affordable housing. Along with Ocampo,
Daniel Hartwig and Priscilla Rodriguez have joined the Water
Blueprint’s board.
… [Denise] Moreno Ramírez wasn’t surprised when she heard an
Australian mining company, South32, planned to open a
manganese, zinc, lead and silver operation in the same area
where her family had worked. … The grasslands, woodlands,
swamps and prairies of south-east Arizona’s Sky Islands are
home to more than 100 species of large mammals: the greatest
number north of Mexico. Residents from the borderlands area
have long dealt with the health impacts of pollution linked
with earlier industrial activity, including mining – from lupus
to cancer. And in spite of it all, they have managed to
preserve a patch of one of the most biodiverse, and imperiled,
ecosystems in the world. … The lithium
boom has received the bulk of attention amid calls to
electrify everything – but another mineral, manganese, has
been earmarked by the US as a critical element to ramp up
the production of electric vehicle batteries.
Pain and hurt continue to linger through the Pajaro community
as the anniversary of the devastating floods approaches. On
Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved the
final rollout plan for the $10 million allocated directly to
help survivors. … Six million dollars will be allocated
for individual households and $4 million for small businesses.
Residents who sustained damages to property can qualify for up
to $15,000 dollars, and small businesses up to $85,000. All
residents, regardless of citizenship status, will be able to
apply in person for aid. The county, ultimately decided how
much would be dispersed on a case-by-case basis.
Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the
Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, introduced the Low-Income
Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) Establishment Act,
legislation that would establish a permanent, nationwide water
assistance program to help families afford their water
bills.
Federal tax deadlines have been extended until June 17 for San
Diego County residents affected by last month’s rainstorms, the
Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday. The amended
deadlines will offer relief “for individuals and businesses in
parts of California affected by severe storms and flooding that
began on Jan. 21,” according to the IRS. The relief extends to
any areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, which includes San Diego County.
It has been far too dry for far too long in Mexico as a
combination of drying reservoirs and increasing population has
caused concerns of a water crisis. According to data from
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, most
of Mexico, including areas around and to the north of Mexico
City, are in a long-term drought. … Local media
reports that reservoirs could completely be out of water
by late August if conditions don’t improve. … Elizabeth
Carter, an assistant professor of civil engineering and earth
sciences at Syracuse University … notes … that the U.S
engineering projects in rivers that feed many of Mexico’s
northern freshwater sources run dry before reaching Mexico. She
cites the Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Dam, and the Central Arizona
Project (Colorado River) as examples.
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will be
expanding a program offering small disadvantaged communities
help in applying for $50 billion in infrastructure act funding
to improve drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, disadvantaged
and underserved communities often struggle to access federal
funding because they lack the money to do the assessments
required to apply for grants. To try to help, the EPA said it
will now be offering engineering assistance to communities to
identify water challenges, develop plans, build capacity
and develop their application materials through its WaterTA
program. The program is free, and local governments, water
utilities, state and tribal governments, and nonprofits are
eligible for the assistance.
A local community health organization and a national
environmental group said they are negotiating with the
developer of the Hell’s Kitchen lithium and geothermal power
projects and have won an extension of at least 15 days to
appeal Imperial County approvals of Controlled Thermal
Resources’ first phase construction near the Salton
Sea. ”Comite Civico del Valle and Earthworks have reached
an agreement with CTR to extend the filing deadline for
litigation and we are currently in negotiations,” Luis Olmedo,
executive director of Comite Civico del Valle based in Brawley,
said in a statement Thursday. Earthworks, headquartered in
Washington, D.C., focuses on helping communities end fossil
fuel use while ensuring a safe and equitable transition to
clean energy.