Newsom's legacy on Safe Drinking Water Must Continue Past His Term
By Former Senator Bill Monning and former U.S. EPA Region 9 administrator Martha Guzman
Twelve years ago, California became the first state in the nation to recognize the human right to water. For years, that commitment existed in name only.
This commitment will soon become a reality for the communities of Springfield in the Central Coast and Tombstone in the Central Valley. Both communities recently celebrated groundbreakings for safe drinking water projects. Two of over 251 water systems that have been invested in since the inception of the safe drinking water fund - SAFER. Once these projects are finished, families in these communities with contaminated drinking water will be able to turn on their tap and use the water to drink, cook and shower without the fear of becoming sick. This being said, over 22,000 people are receiving interim drinking water supplies and 102 schools are receiving bottled water throughout the State. If SAFER is not reauthorized this year, nearly a million Californians relying on this program to provide safe water will face a public health crisis.
In 2019, after years of advocacy by impacted residents and advocates, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 200 into law, making progress on clean drinking water access - a priority for him. SAFER is the first program to provide continuous funding for technical assistance, consolidation expenses emergency relief, and ongoing operations and maintenance of water systems. This is the only funding source currently available which can be allocated to these vital interim solutions. The SAFER program receives input from an Advisory Group made up of members from small communities, Community-Based Organizations, and other stakeholders across the state to set funding priorities and ensure continuous progress is being made. The SAFER Program also produces an annual Drinking Water Needs Assessment, which provides data to help us understand who lacks safe and affordable water, where these people are located, and what solutions will cost. The goal is to make sure impacted families and schoolchildren can transition to permanent drinking water solutions, solutions that take approximately 5 years to implement - when funding is available.
Funding for the SAFER Program sunsets in 2030, putting continued progress toward universal access to safe drinking water in doubt.
The relief to many families and schools from SAFER is significant. A future without SAFER would mean families and schools in communities like San Lucas and the Eastern Coachella Valley that rely on interim bottled water would immediately lose access to their only source of safe drinking water - and at the same time face increased uncertainty about the prospect of long-term solutions. This is not an option.
The future of this comprehensive safe drinking water program comes under threat at a time when we are seeing historical progress in a goal once considered unattainable by previous Administrations. The need to retain this funding is heightened by the significant funding cuts to water infrastructure at the federal level. SAFER provides a path for California to at least partially fill the gap, but only if the legislature and governor act to sustain it. Without SAFER, the number of failing water systems in our state will increase. California must continue its steadfast commitment to the Human Right to Water and the significant progress that has been made under the Newsom Administration.
Although this progress has been tremendous, the Needs Assessment funded by SAFER has identified 398 failing water systems - meaning their customers are not receiving safe or reliable water from their taps. An additional 580 water systems are at risk of failure, further endangering 1,550,827 more people. We’ve been able to achieve important investments for drinking water infrastructure as a state but knowing that families stand to lose water access and over a million will be at risk, highlights the urgency to make sure SAFER can do more.
Our state cannot stand to lose or even delay the progress made so far to fix failing water systems. We urge the Governor and the Legislature to continue their commitment to advance the human right to water, protect the public health, and ensure affordable water access for all by continuing and extending funding for the SAFER program.
Authors:
Former State Senator Bill Monning was the author of SB 200 in 2019 which established the ten year funding commitment of the Legislature and the Governor for SAFER.
Martha Guzman was the Former Environmental Protection Agency - Region 9 Administrator.
