By Chris Gilbert
"To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources"
— From the Sierra Club's mission statement.
For most Sierra Club members, household water is usually seen as something to use less of: flush less, irrigate less, take out lawns, don't wash our cars, use grey water for plants, etc. For an increasing number of households, however, getting any water is an issue. Last year alone, EBMUD shut off water to over 9,000 households for non-payment. In the Central Valley, some families are paying up to 10 percent of their monthly income on water. Water rates in some places in California have increased by as much as 300 percent since 2006. And then there are those towns in the Central Valley that have no running water at all because the groundwater sources have dried up or gone bad, and they are not hooked up to a municipal water system.
Rate increases are accepted by many as the price that must be paid for having been so successful over the last 20-30 years in cutting overall municipal water use; water agencies have fixed costs, while income from selling water has declined. However, for a significant portion of the population, increased rates are causing water to become another item in the basket of unaffordables such as medical care, housing, even food.
Because of the increased unaffordability of water, in 2012, California implemented "right to water" legislation, AB 685, that declared that "it is the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes." The bill requires "all relevant state agencies, including the Department of Water Resources, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the State Department of Public Health, to consider this state policy when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, and grant criteria" when pertinent.
Following this, in 2015, the Legislature mandated AB 401, a low-income assistance program, and required the State Water Resources Control Board to develop a plan for its funding and implementation. In addition to rate assistance, other methods are to be considered, including "billing alternatives, installation of water conservation devices, and leak repair." The plan is to be presented to the Legislature no later than Feb. 1, 2018. In preparation, a new round of public hearings on the design of this program is starting up around the state.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
For Bay Chapter Sierrans, the closest scheduled meeting will take place in Oakland on June 28 from 6-8 p.m. in the Meeting Room of the Ira Jinkins Recreation Center at 9175 Edes Avenue. We encourage you to join us and take part in this meeting!
Click here to read the letter.
If you cannot make this meeting, please send written comments and to Mary Yang at Mary.Yang@waterboards.ca.gov or (916) 322-6507.
Questions? Contact Chris Gilbert, chris [at] gilbertbiz.com. Gilbert co-chairs the Water Committee of the Sierra Club's San Francisco Bay Chapter.
Image by Matt via Flickr