Safe, clean water is a human right

It seems so basic, yet California still has not ensured that all of our communities have access to safe drinking water. The Human Right to Water bill – Assembly Bill 685 – would help make access to clean water a reality for all Californians.

Runoff from industrial or agricultural polluters leaves some Californians with water too toxic to consume. Many of the communities they live in can’t afford to clean up the toxic chemicals in their water and are left entirely without safe water. Forcing whole communities to buy bottled water is not an acceptable alternative to safe, affordable tap water.

We should be able to take for granted that the water that comes out of our taps is safe to drink. Too many Californians cannot. More than 250,000 Central Valley residents alone do not receive safe drinking water. Families unable to afford treated or bottled water are left entirely without safe water, and are at particular risk of adverse health impacts from contaminated water supplies.

Here’s The Solution

The first step is to acknowledge that access to safe, affordable drinking water is a human right – and then work to make that right a reality.

Last year Governor Brown signed four bills to move us closer to making access to clean water a reality for Californians. Unfortunately, the core bill in the Human Right to Water package of bills never made it to his desk.

AB 685 (Eng) will establish the right of every Californian to have access to clean water for basic human needs as a state policy and instruct state agencies to conform their practices and programs to this policy.

Drinking, bathing in or cooking with water that comes out of the faucet shouldn’t be a health hazard.