Clean Water - In the News
Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Bill Creating Safe Drinking Water Fund
In his first week in office, Governor Newsom proposed providing permanent funding for safe drinking water projects to help more than 1 million Californians without access to clean drinking water. SB 200 establishes a stable ongoing fund to help communities access safe drinking water.
They Grow the Nation’s Food, but They Can’t Drink the Water
EAST OROSI, Calif. — Water is a currency in California, and the low-income farmworkers who pick the Central Valley’s crops know it better than anyone. They labor in the region’s endless orchards, made possible by sophisticated irrigation systems, but at home their faucets spew toxic water tainted by arsenic and fertilizer chemicals.
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One less tax. California lawmakers move to reject Gavin Newsom’s water fee
A Senate budget subcommittee rejected Gov. Gavin Newsom’s water tax plan on Wednesday, instead recommending finding $150 million elsewhere to finance a safe and affordable drinking water fund.
Newsom proposed the tax in his January budget to help communities clean contaminated water systems ...
Key conflicts roil California’s ever-evolving waterscape
As 2018 was winding down, one of California’s leading newspapers suggested, via a front-page, banner-headlined article, that the drought that had plagued the state for much of this decade may be returning.
Just weeks later, that same newspaper was reporting that record-level midwinter storms were choking mountain passes with snow, rapidly filling reservoirs and causing serious local flooding.
Clean water crisis: Stanislaus County asks state to allow bottled water in hardship cases
Stanislaus County will ask the state to consider use of bottled water as a permanent alternative for small public water systems that are in violation of safe drinking water standards.
Last week, the state notified the county of a State Water Resources Control Board position that doesn’t recognize bottled water as a way for small water systems to comply with drinking water regulations.
What’s All This About a Water Tax?
Gov. Gavin Newsom has made repairing hundreds of failing drinking-water systems in California a big priority since taking office, giving fresh momentum to an entrenched problem the state’s leaders have long struggled to resolve.
But his proposed solution — a $140 million yearly tax raised in part through fees on urban water districts — has raised eyebrows in a state where residents already feel overtaxed.
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Study estimates 15,000 cancer cases could stem from chemicals in California tap water
(CNN) - A new study finds that drinking tap water in California over the course of a lifetime could increase the risk of cancer.
Researchers from the environmental advocacy group Environmental Working Group estimated that the contaminants found in public water systems in California could contribute to about 15,500 cancer cases there over the course of a lifetime. These contaminants include ...