Safe Water is Possible with SAFER
For Immediate Release
May. 12, 2025
Contact:
Maraid Jimenez, Community Water Center, 559-809-7646, maraid.jimenez@communitywatercenter.org
Safe Water is Possible with SAFER
Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District and the Community Break Ground on Safe Water Project
Moss Landing, Calif. — Last Friday Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District and the unincorporated community of Springfield and Struve Rd in Monterey County hit an important milestone to achieve their Human Right to Water by breaking ground on their safe drinking water project. Many families in this area currently rely on drinking water contaminated with concerning levels of contaminants like nitrate and 1,2,3-trichloropropane (123-TCP), some up to five times the legal limit.This is water families need to drink, cook, shower and carry out other everyday tasks. The science shows short and long-term exposure to these contaminants are associated with negative health impacts, even cancer. These concerns make this achievement important for community wellbeing.
"This victory for clean water wasn't easy; it was the result of years of persistence and unity and we know unity is strength,” says Ignacio Garcia, AGUA Coalition member from Moss Landing. “Having clean water is our right, and today we celebrate that we will finally have it."
Residents formed a community-based organization called El comité para tener agua, sana, limpia y económica (The Committee for Safe, Clean, and Affordable Drinking Water) to unite and obtain safe, clean and affordable drinking water for their community. Their efforts were met with collaboration by the Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District (CSD), who will supply water to a population of approximately 700.
“Water is life. It is the foundation of our health, our agriculture, and our industries,” says Don Olsen, Vice President of Pajaro/Sunny Mesa CSD. “Today, we take a bold step forward, one that will ensure clean, reliable water to our communities. This new water system is not just a set of pipes and pumps, it is a symbol of our commitment to the future. It is the product of years of planning, collaboration, and determination.”
In 2019 Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 200 (Sen. Monning) into law, establishing the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. This historic effort was led by community advocacy and it included environmental justice, environmental, labor, public health organizations, business voices, and more. The intentional inclusion of community outreach through the SAFER Advisory Group creating a space for residents is making a difference by showing how the Water Board can support community-driven drinking water solutions
“Water system consolidations are a tried-and-true strategy to secure long-term safe drinking water resources for small, rural communities,” says Sean Maguire, member of the State Water Board. “Many Californians like those in the Springfield project area have had to deal with contaminated drinking water for too long; critical projects like this that leverage local water system partnerships will help us move closer to ensuring those days are done.”
As a result we are seeing real change for an unincorporated community in an agricultural area of the county. Up to 158 homes will now be connected to safe drinking water as part of a long term solution, a relief to about 700 people who have been relying on bottled water. This progress also gives hopes for other communities who are looking towards tools like SAFER to achieve reliable long term solutions.
“Clean drinking water shouldn’t be a privilege. It’s a basic human right. What we’re seeing today is what happens when communities are heard and leaders work together to deliver lasting solutions,” says Assemblymember Dawn Addis Representing the 30th California Assembly District. “Programs like SAFER aren’t just policy. They’re lifelines. We need to keep pushing forward, not just to protect today’s progress, but to ensure every community, no matter how rural or underserved, has access to safe water for generations to come.”
Friday’s success is only possible because of community, political will, and regulatory support, and local collaboration. The SAFER Program is critical for communities and local leadership to make progress on the Human Right to Water. We need to keep supporting efforts that make a difference and this means we have to work together for a future where SAFER is available past 2030 and where we remove the artificial funding cap to keep making safe drinking water a reality for all.
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Community Water Center (CWC) works to ensure that all communities have reliable access to safe, clean, and affordable water. Founded in 2006, CWC is a not-for-profit environmental justice organization, whose mission is to act as a catalyst for community-driven water solutions through education, organizing, and advocacy.
Web: www.communitywatercenter.org.
Twitter: @CWaterC
Facebook: @CommunityWaterCenter
