SB 623 (Monning): Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund
As we have shared before, CWC’s top legislative priority is SB 623 which would create a new Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund to ensure all California communities and those on domestic wells can have access to safe drinking water. In partnership with Senator Monning and over 90 other organizations, CWC has worked hard in 2017 to move SB 623 through the Legislative Process. YOU played a critical role by attending lobbying days in Sacramento, passing resolutions of support through your local water board, making phone calls, and taking other forms of action. Thank you for making your voice heard.
While we have made great progress this year in moving SB 623 from the Senate into the Assembly, Senator Monning and stakeholders have decided to wait until next year to proceed with SB 623. This will allow for sufficient time to educate the legislative membership, and the public, to fully understand recent amendments made to the legislation and the importance of the policy to address the statewide problem of contaminated water in California.
We will continue building power and momentum over the coming months and will take up the fight again in January when the legislature reconvenes. Please stay tuned -- we will need you to remain engaged and taking action in order to push SB 623 over the finish line. Thank you!
AB 560 (Salas): State Water Board, funding assistance
CWC partnered with Assemblymember Salas from Bakersfield to pass AB 560, which broadens the guidelines for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to allow larger systems whose service area qualifies as a severely disadvantaged community (SDAC) to apply for grant funding, if paying off a loan would result in unaffordable water rates. The bill also sets the affordability metric at 1.5% of the median household income. AB 560 improves the types of financial assistance that larger (but still small) communities like Arvin access through the DWSRF. This represents a modest improvement, but a far more important next step is to pass SB 623. We hope Assemblymember Salas will be a strong partner with CWC to fight for passage of SB 623 in 2018.
AB 1668 (Friedman): Drought and Water Supply Vulnerability
CWC worked with a coalition of water and environmental organizations to advocate for AB 1668, which includes a requirement that the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to develop recommended guidelines for county-level drought contingency planning for small water systems and rural communities. The bill also included a requirement that DWR use available data to identify small water suppliers and rural communities that may be at risk of drought and water shortage vulnerability, and then notify counties and local groundwater sustainability agencies of those suppliers or communities that may be at risk within its jurisdiction, and make the information publicly accessible on its Internet Web site. The legislative authors decided to make AB 1668 a two-year bill and continue working on the legislation next year. This gives CWC and other allies more time to educate decision makers and the public about the importance of proactive drought and water vulnerability planning.
2017-2018 State Budget: Emergency Drinking Water Needs
A coalition of environmental justice and other advocates that included CWC were successful in securing funding through the 2017-2018 state budget for emergency drinking water needs. This included $8 million for the State Water Board for emergency replacement of domestic wells and other emergency drinking water needs, $4 million for DWR for emergency needs, and $5 million for a CalFResh water benefit pilot.