California Advocates for the Human Right to Water to Testify, Lobby, and Rally in Sacramento

More than 11.5 million Californians rely on water from suppliers that experienced at least one violation of State Drinking Water Standards as reported to the Department of Public Health in 2004. And as many as 8.5 million Californians rely on supplies that experienced more than five instances of unsafe levels in a single year. These are just two reasons that safe-water advocates and residents of California communities will rally in Sacramento today to show support for a historic human-right-to-water bill package. 

Advocates from communities without access to safe drinking water are gathering at the California capitol along with water-justice allies to testify in favor of the new legislation and meet with policy makers. The contingent of community advocates hail from Tulare County, Maywood in Los Angeles County, and Coachella in Riverside County and will include Mark Franco of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe as well as Susana De Anda and Laurel Firestone from Community Water Center. They will be joined by allies Debbie Davis of the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Reverend Lindi Ramsden of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of California, and Shelley Moskowitz of Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

Activities today include a hearing at 9:00 a.m. (PDT), with the Water Parks and Wildlife Committee on a bill (AB 685) introduced by Assembly member Mike Eng. If passed, the legislation will make it state policy that every Californian has a human right to clean, accessible water for basic human needs.

At 1:30 p.m. (PDT), the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee will hear testimony on five bills that make changes in state law to begin implementing the human right to water and promote access to safe water for the health and well-being of all Californians.

In far too many communities, the sole water supply is contaminated, and families unable to afford treatment are left entirely without safe water. In the Central Valley and Central Coast regions, more than 90 percent of communities depend on groundwater for drinking while nitrate levels in groundwater are sometimes well above safe limits. These communities are at particular risk of adverse health impacts from contaminated water supplies.

The human-right-to-water bill package includes the following legislation:

• Human Right to Water (AB 685)
• Language Access on Public Health Notifications (AB 938)
• Access to Clean Up and Abatement Funding (AB 983)
• Drinking Water Plan (AB 1187)
• Drinking Water SRF (AB 1221)
• General Plans (SB 244)

Sponsoring organizations of Tuesday's advocacy activities:

• California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
• Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton
• Clean Water Action California
• Community Water Center
• Food and Water Watch
• Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
• Southern California Watershed Alliance
• Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry California
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
• Urban Semillas
• Winnemem Wintu Tribe