CAL MATTERS: 1 Million Californians’ Drinking Water Does Not Meet State Requirements ~ MAVEN’S NOTEBOOK

Nearly 400 providers, two-thirds of which are from communities of color, fail to meet safety and reliability standards. Fixing them would cost billions.

By Rachel Becker, Cal Matters
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Nearly 400 water systems serving nearly a million Californians don’t meet the state’s requirements for safe, reliable drinking water supplies — and fixing them would cost billions of dollars.

More than two-thirds of these failing water systems serve communities of color, and more than half are in places struggling with poverty and pollution, according to an annual assessment released today by the National Council control of water resources.

Since January 1, these water systems have failed to provide water “that is pure, safe and drinkable at all times” as required. Some violated drinking water standards for chemicals, bacteria, taste or odor. Others rely on bottled water or have failed to meet treatment, monitoring or other requirements.

An even larger number of Californians, about 1.54 million, are served by hundreds of water systems considered at risk of failure, state officials said, and nearly 144,000 wells were threatened by the invasion of contaminants and shortages.

Failing water systems stretch across the state – from small Del Norte County on the Oregon state line to San Diego and Imperial counties near the border with Mexico. They cluster densely in the Central Valley and along the Central Coast, where overexploitation of groundwater, agricultural chemicals and smaller, struggling water systems collide – particularly in the communities of low income color.

“It’s a moral scandal. “It’s unconscionable in a state with so many resources that we can’t guarantee everyone access to the basic right to water,” said Kyle Jones, director of policy and legal affairs at the Community Water Center. . “People should not have to suffer health consequences or additional costs to have access to something that most of us take for granted and can obtain on a daily basis. »

The price tag to ensure a safe, affordable and accessible water supply for all Californians is staggering – an estimated $16 billion over the next five years – while the state grapples with a multibillion-dollar deficit .

Without more state or federal funding, most of the total — about $13.9 billion — could fall on local communities and well owners, the report said. This means that some of the people least able to afford it will end up paying more for water.

The number of failing systems — and the cost of repairing them — is likely to rise as water suppliers must meet new state and federal standards for hexavalent chromium, the contaminant made infamous in the movie “Erin Brockovich ”, as well as the omnipresent and eternal chemicals.

“The subtext of this report is pretty clear,” said Greg Pierce, director of UCLA’s Human Right to Water Solutions Lab, who praised the water board’s transparency and thorough analysis. “The state just needs to walk the talk.”

It’s been 12 years since California became the first state in the nation to recognize clean, safe, affordable and accessible drinking water as a human right. Today, approximately 98% of Californians are served by water systems that meet state standards.

Yet despite California’s reputation as an economic powerhouse and climate leader, the state has long struggled to ensure safe drinking water for all, especially rural and disadvantaged communities. Californians who rely on domestic wells, for example, fall outside the state’s regulatory reach.

The annual assessment comes from the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program, established by state law in 2019. Nearly $1 billion was spent on grants in disadvantaged communities .

The list of failing water systems typically ranges from 380 to 400, state officials said. And almost every year, with a few exceptions, more water systems were added to the “failing” list than were removed.

Yet around 283, or 42% of the 715 systems that were on the list, were removed between 2017 and 2023. According to the water agency, around 700,000 more people have access to drinking water than in 2019.

But the pace of guaranteeing drinking water is too slow, the auditor said in a report castigating the Water Board two years ago. It “has funds available to help these failing systems improve the quality of their drinking water. Nonetheless, the board generally demonstrated a lack of urgency in providing this critical assistance,” the auditor said.

Kristyn Abhold, a senior environmental scientist at the Water Board who led today’s report, said infrastructure takes time. “It’s not just a question of financing, but also of planning. It’s about engineering reports, community engagement and getting the proper permits,” she said.

Cost estimates have increased by about $1.1 billion, or about 26%, since a 2021 assessment for failing and at-risk public water systems, and $3.6 billion for private wells and high-risk domestic water systems and small water systems that serve only a handful of customers. — an increase of 264 percent, said Jackie Carpenter, a spokeswoman for the water board.

Part of that increase is due to inflation, Abhold said. Another reason is that the latest analysis favors longer-term, more expensive solutions, like merging troubled water systems with safer ones nearby. Another reason is that the analysis now includes domestic water systems and wells at risk of shortages, rather than just those struggling with poor water quality.

The Water Board projects it will be able to cover about $2 billion of the estimated $15.9 billion through grants – leaving $13.9 billion the responsibility of water suppliers and well owners , including those least financially able to withstand such a blow.

According to the report, small systems already charge about $32 more per month than larger ones, and about 13 percent of community water systems face medium to high affordability challenges.

Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to establish a program to help low-income Californians pay for water because the bill had “no funding sustainable and ongoing identified,” although another similar bill is currently being considered by the Legislature.

State officials said drinking water programs largely escaped major funding cuts in the latest budget deal: while more than $152 million in the general fund for drinking water and wastewater was been removed, nearly $225 million from cap-and-trade revenue was included. “In summary, we do not anticipate a net reduction in funding available for drinking water projects,” said Water Board spokesman Dimitri Stanich.

Defenders of drinking water believe that this is still far too little.

The funding gap identified in the report “is enormous, especially considering how little funding the program will receive over the next two years,” said Jennifer Clary, California director of Clean Water Action. Clary has advocated for funding clean water as part of a climate bond that is still being negotiated.

“Drinking water infrastructure is not a luxury product. Without these projects, thousands of Californians will continue to lack access to safe, clean drinking water.