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Dear Friend,
Now is an important time to get involved in protecting groundwater that many people rely on for their drinking water source. Many Groundwater Sustainability Agencies are releasing draft Groundwater Sustainability Plans and starting the public comment period. We continue to host community workshops throughout the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast to review the plans and to get your feedback on how you think groundwater should be managed, with a focus on how to protect community drinking water supplies. See below for more information!
Make sure you’re following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Adelante,
Susana De Anda
CWC Co-Founder and Executive Director
November 22, 5-6 PM. Central Coast Comité Platica. Comité members will be sharing their experience working to secure bottled water delivery and next steps toward obtaining a long-term drinking water solution. All residents of the Bluff Rd., Jensen Rd, and Springfield Rd. area in north Monterey County are invited to this meeting to learn more about the efforts of the Comité. Please contact Cesar Garcia Lopez at (831) 288-0450 or cesar.garcia@communitywatercenter.orgwith any questions.
Spring 2020.The Water Project. A powerful collaboration between five departments, The Water Project integrates dance, choral music, animation, and projected imagery. The Water Project explores all things water: its sacred essence and beauty, its positive and destructive power, and humanity’s role in controlling and commodifying water. This performance addresses our strong reliance on water and the impending crisis that could impact life as we know it today. More infohere.
Get Involved in Protecting Groundwater. Across the state, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) have developed Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) that outline how to manage groundwater locally. GSAs will need to submit their plans to the state by January 2020 and the plans will have to go through a public comment period to get feedback from stakeholders like you. Through the end of the year, CWC will be hosting community workshops to review the draft Groundwater Sustainability Plans and to get YOUR feedback on how you think groundwater should be managed. We will be posting information about workshops on social media as well as in our calendar: https://www.communitywatercenter.org/events.
Visalia Delta Times: Guest column: Poor Central Valley communities deserve safe, affordable water service. La Asociación de Gente Unida por el Agua (AGUA) and Protectores del Agua Subterránea (Protectores), representing over 30 communities around the Valley, made a public appeal to the State Water Board, which on Wednesday, Oct. 16 made a decision that will determine the quality of our water in the Central Valley for decades to come.
Valley Public Radio: Disadvantaged Communities Claim A Stake In State Groundwater Overhaul. Most of the homes in the community of Tombstone, about 40 or so, get their drinking water from shallow domestic wells, which can be vulnerable to both aquifer contaminants and falling groundwater levels. They’re hoping some solutions may lie with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). That’s why Torres Romo and a handful of her neighbors recently attended a community meeting on the law.
See the latest CWC news coverage here.
Earlier this month, Community Water Center had the opportunity to participate in the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Preparing California’s Water System for Climate Extremes event. Jonathan Nelson, CWC’s Policy Director, spoke on a panel before 800 people who attended online and in person, to talk about the progress we've made this year and how to successfully implement the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund (SB 200). Critical to successful implementation, is the continued inclusion of community member voices in the process. It will continue to be a priority at CWC to make sure the Fund is implemented in a way that meets the safe drinking water needs of impacted Californians. Thank you PPIC for hosting such an important event and providing a space to have these conversations! See a recording of the full eventhere.
DRINKING WATER ADVOCATES SHARE THEIR VISION FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SAFE AND AFFORDABLE DRINKING WATER FUND
Over 20 organizations signed on in support to a letter sent to the State Water Board outlining the vision for a successful implementation of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
The passage of the Fund represents the culmination of a half-century of advocacy from impacted communities and Community-Based Organizations in pursuit of a simple goal -- to secure every Californian’s basic human right to water. The Fund also brought together an unprecedented array of organizational partners that joined hands together with communities to achieve this historic victory. As we now look to the future, our organizations stand ready to do our part to work towards swift and equitable implementation of the Fund, and are committed to being collaborative and engaged partners throughout the entirety of this process. Read the letter here.
DANIEL PEÑALOZA JOINS THE CWC TEAM
Our team is excited to introduce you to our new staff member. Daniel joined the Visalia team last month as a Water Leadership Strategist. Check out his bio and make sure to give him a warm welcome!
Do you want to join our team? CWC is Hiring!
Complete job descriptions and more information on how to apply, please visit: https://www.communitywatercenter.org/careers.
Current openings:
Communications Manager - Sacramento Office: The Communications Manager is primarily responsible for overseeing media relations, organizational communications (eblasts, web presence, social media), and supporting CWC’s fundraising efforts. The Communications Manager is a full-time position based out of our Sacramento office and will report to the Policy Director. This position will work closely with CWC’s Director of Strategic Partnerships and the Executive Director, as well as other CWC staff, community members, ally organizations and agencies, and various interns. If you have any questions, please contact to Christina Marquez, Administrative Assistant at christina.marquez@communitywatercenter.org
RESOURCES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Do you know if your water is safe to drink? Check out our bilingual Water FAQ page to see what steps you can take to find out what is in the water coming out of your tap.
- Funding available for water systems impacted by 1,2,3-TCP. On December 14, 2017, the State Water Board approved an early effective date for the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of contaminant 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP). In order to obtain cost recovery for your impacted system, you need to obtain legal representation in order to sue the responsible parties, Shell and Dow Chemicals, for 1-2-3 TCP contamination. Litigation can take anywhere from a year to more than three years, so if you are impacted by 1-2-3 TCP and are in need of financial assistance to come into compliance with the new MCL, there are funding sources at the state available for eligible entities. The primary funding source is the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), and the Prop 1 Groundwater Grant Fund is also a secondary option to cover instances where the DWSRF doesn’t cover. In order to qualify for state funding sources you will likely be required to show you are initiating efforts to recover costs from the responsible parties. For any questions, contact the State Water Resources Control Board.
- Resources for Protecting Groundwater. Summer and fall 2019 are an important time for groundwater planning. In preparation for this, Community Water Center has just released two new resources for protecting drinking water quality in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA):
- Guide to Protecting Drinking Water Quality Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
- Groundwater Quality in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA): Scientific Factsheet on Arsenic, Uranium, and Chromium (In partnership with researchers at Stanford University)
We hope these resources support your involvement in groundwater planning. If you are new to the SGMA process, there is still time to get involved. Click here for a step-by-step process for how to get involved in your local area.
Funding for Water and Energy Audits:Application and Instructions.More details on theCWSRF.
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS!
Huge thank you to our monthly donors, whose continual contributions help to sustain our long-term work toward achieving safe, clean and affordable drinking water!
Kristin Dobbin, Leonard Sklar, David Weinsoff, Kelsey Hinton, Ellen Rowe, Kavita Vora, Edward Bergtholdt, Sandra Hocker, Vicente Guerrero, Frank Lukacs, Natalie Garcia, Carly Yoshida, Amy Helfant, Bessma Mourad, Anavel Valdez, Nancy Bruce, Renata Brillinger, Jill Ratner, Paul Pierce, Nimmi Damodaran, Bill Walker, Vicki Woods, Kathryn Wuelfing, Julian De Anda, Benigna Hernandez, Bryan Barnhart, Cassie Morgan
And thank you to our generous donors for the month of October!
David Chatfield, Ettinger Foundation, Belinda Yan, Mr. and Mrs. Marc Rotenberg
If you would like to donate to CWC, please click here!