August eNews: A water victory to celebrate!
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Dear Supporter,
All homes in the West Goshen Project Area officially have safe drinking water! The remaining of the 44 homes are now connected to the Cal Water System in Visalia. For families, this means they can now cook with their tap water without the fear of becoming sick and where they won’t have to worry about not having water if wells go dry. Listen here directly from Mr. Jesus Benitez, longtime resident and community advocate, what this victory means for him. It’s been a long time coming, looking back to 2021 when West Goshen residents formed the community-based organization West Goshen Water for Life.
West Goshen residents, CWC staff, and allies celebrated the groundbreaking of the now-completed project back in May.
West Goshen represents what is possible when communities organize and get connected to resources that put their needs first. This success can happen across communities in California that are still fighting for safe and affordable drinking water solutions. Let’s celebrate this victory for the Human Right to Water and use the momentum to keep fighting for resources that will help achieve water justice for their neighbors and beyond!
Adelante,
Susana De Anda
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Advocating for the Resources of Tomorrow
CWC staff and community partners at the State Capitol pushing for Cap and Trade to center funding community needs like SAFER.
We are working with the CA State Legislature to extend SAFER past 2030 and reauthorize its funding source, Cap and Trade. Almost 30 community partners from the Central Valley and the Central Coast were in Sacramento sharing this message. Residents were clear - we need Cap and Trade to invest in our communities and grow the funding available for climate programs like SAFER. SAFER delivers safe drinking water to schools and families across the state providing bottled water and working to connect communities to long term solutions. Residents support SAFER, sharing that they rely on bottled water because their tap water is contaminated and they need the investments to make the Human Right to Water a reality.
In D.C. we are working with the U.S. Representatives Jim Costa (CA-21) and Chuck Edwards (NC-11) on our first federal bill! The Emergency Rural Water Response Act will proactively help rural communities get the resources they need to be resilient in the face of climate disasters. The bill will do this by streamlining emergency response efforts and increasing the population limit for small water systems. Small but growing communities like Porterville will be able to quickly access emergency resources if a drought happens without needing a federal disaster declaration.
Stay tuned to our socials for legislative updates that impact our resources for tomorrow!
Shaping the regulatory space with Community Perspectives
Community members present at the State Water Boards ready to speak about the impacts of nitrate contamination.
Community voices are needed in regulatory spaces to make sure their drinking water is protected. Because of this, community partners from the Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley brought their experiences to the Nitrate Expert Panel. The Nitrate Expert Panel will play a key role in protecting our drinking water by giving the State Water Board recommendations, like setting limits on how much fertilizer farmers can use and how much nitrate they can release into the groundwater. These limits can stop nitrate pollution and make sure our drinking water is safe, making community perspectives necessary. Community members like Angie Moreno from Cutler/ Orosi were able to share how urgently we need these solutions since her well is contaminated with nitrates five times the legal limit.
Residents from the Central Coast also joined an Alternative Water Supply meeting by the Regional Water Board in San Luis Obispo. The community knows too well that when we talk about nitrate contamination we also need to talk about short and long term solutions for safe drinking water. This means residents were present to advocate for an effective bottled water program through SAFER that will also work towards solutions like water system consolidations. From preventing more contamination to discussing solutions, impacted residents are ready to shape decisions that affect them!
Check the Drinking Water Tool to see who manages your water!
CWC is Hiring
Do you have a passion for environmental and social justice? Are you looking for an opportunity to work alongside those on the frontlines of the movement for safe and affordable drinking water in California?
Community Water Center is hiring:
Policy Director - Sacramento Office
The ideal candidate is an experienced policy advocacy leader and people manager who is: Committed to environmental justice, Energized to lead a team of policy advocates toward successful outcomes, and has a proven track record of wins, and Eager to partner with rural, low-income communities of color living with contaminated drinking water to seek short- and long-term solutions.
More information on CWC Careers here!
Welcome to the CWC Team!
Uriel Saldivar first joined CWC in 2020 and currently serves as a Staff Attorney.
Born and raised in the Central Valley, Uriel witnessed firsthand the impacts of water affordability, drought, and contamination. He now helps those same communities he grew up in to provide access to safe and affordable drinking water.
Uriel graduated from the UCLA School of Law and UC Berkeley for his undergraduate studies. He previously worked in the California Legislature for Rob Bonta, labor unions (SEIU 721 and Unite Here! Local 11), and community-based organizations to help ensure California’s laws and policies promoted justice for all, not just the billionaires and corporations.
Uriel enjoys going on walks, watching anime, playing basketball, and welcomes any challenger to a foosball game.
Community Resources
The Drinking Water Tool
Visit the Drinking Water Tool to see who makes decisions about your water supply and quality, potential threats to groundwater quality, and how to get involved in local groundwater management decisions, among other great information. Use the tool here!
Thank you to our Generous Donors!
A huge thank you to our sustaining monthly donors! Your ongoing commitment to water justice ensures everyone will have access to safe, clean and affordable drinking water.
Ann Dierks, Bessma Mourad, Bob Simone, Carly Yoshida, Claire Sarraille, Claire Wilkens, F Thomas Biglione, Herbert G Cattanach, Jelle van Geuns, Jonathan Nelson, Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida, Kat Gilje, Kelsey Hinton, Kirk Demartini, Kjirste Morrell, Kristin Dobbin, Lauren Gordon, Lou Riordan, Margaret Ferguson, Margaret Pedersen, Max Gomberg, Max Meyer, Robert Kimberling, Sandi Matsumoto, Temma Kaplan, Wendy Hoben
August Donor
Max Meyer
Be a water champion and support safe water for all.
