Public Health Crisis Looms as California Identifies 600 Communities at Risk of Water-System Failures A new report puts into focus for the first time the scope of the state’s drinking-water problems and what it will take to fix them.
This article originally appeared in The Revelator. Tara Lohan
May 7, 2021
Listen to editor Maureen Nandini Mitra’s conversation about drought and water equity in California with Camille Pannu, a professor of law and community development at UC Irvine, and Nataly Escobedo Garcia, water program policy coordinator for Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability on KPFA Public radio.
A familiar scene has returned to California: drought. Two counties are currently under emergency declarations, and the rest of the state could follow.
Water infrastructure in the small community of Woodville, Calif. | Tara Lohan / Revelator
A familiar scene has returned to California: drought. Two counties are currently under emergency declarations, and the rest of the state could follow.
It was only four years ago when a winter of torrential rain finally wrestled the state out of its last major drought, which had dragged on for five years and left thousands of domestic wells coughing up dust.
That drinking-water crisis made national headlines and helped shine a light on another long-simmering water crisis in California: More than 300 communities have chronically unsafe drinking water containing contaminants that can come with serious health consequences, including cancer. The areas hardest hit are mostly small, agricultural communities in the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys, which are predominantly Latino and are often also places classified by the state as “disadvantaged.” Unsafe water in these communities adds to a
Public health crisis looms as California identifies 600 communities at risk of water-system failures
A new report puts into focus for the first time the scope of the state’s drinking-water problems and what it will take to fix them.
Image Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A familiar scene has returned to California: drought. Two counties are currently under emergency declarations, and the rest of the state could follow.
It was only four years ago when a winter of torrential rain finally
wrestled the state out of its last major drought, which had dragged on
for five years and left thousands of domestic wells coughing up dust.
A familiar scene has returned to California: drought. Two counties are currently under emergency declarations, and the rest of the state could follow.
It was only four years ago when a winter of torrential rain finally wrestled the state out of its last major drought, which had dragged on for five years and left thousands of domestic wells coughing up dust.
That drinking-water crisis made national headlines and helped shine a light on another long-simmering water crisis in California: More than 300 communities have chronically unsafe drinking water containing contaminants that can come with serious health consequences, including cancer. The areas hardest hit are mostly small, agricultural communities in the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys, which are predominantly Latino and are often also places classified by the state as “disadvantaged.” Unsafe water in these communities adds to a list of health and economic burdens made worse by the ongoing pandemic.
For over a year, members of the public have joined local city council meetings virtually, using phones, Zoom and other teleconference systems to participate in public meetings and make public comments.
While virtual meetings now feel like second nature for many, they are a somewhat new concept for municipal government meetings.
Under the Brown Act, officials and members of the public must be physically present at a meeting in order to participate. But, Gov. Gavin Newsom waived this requirement via a March 2020 executive order at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Newsom s order also authorized local government bodies to hold their public meetings virtually.