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What is WATER JUSTICE?
Water Justice is the ability of all communities to access safe, affordable water for drinking, fishing, recreational and cultural uses. |
| Environmental justice demands that community experiences of toxic contamination be addressed and communities participate as equal partners in every level of decision-making. |
California has the SIXTH largest economy in the world, yet low-income communities and communities of color daily face a chronic lack access to safe, affordable water for all beneficial uses. |
How does water flow in California...
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Water flows from areas of high rainfall and low demand to urban and agricultural areas with little rainfall but high demand.
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Tax-payer funded projects allow water to be 'developed' - collected behind dams and transported in concrete channels and aqueducts.
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Agriculture usese almost 80 percent of developed water in California.
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Households use about 15 percent of the state's water.
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Manufacturing industries use 2 percent.
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What does WATER JUSTICE look like?
Water justice is about building a communal vision for how water is distributed and managed.
Water justice will be achieved when low-income communities and communities of color have access to water for drinking, cooking, swimming, fishing, cultural and other uses. It requires alternative water allocation and use systems, from conservation, water reuse, to watershed planning. It means counteracting the fundamentally flawed system of water use, distribution and planning in California. |
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...and who is left out?
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People of color constitute over half of California’s population. Almost half of all Californians are considered “low income.”
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Rural, Latino communities in the Central Valley drink water from contaminated wells while agribusinesses next door receive clean, imported water.
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Over 4 million of the state’s 35.5 million residents may be drinking unfiltered water that is contaminated with fecal matter or E. coli.
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Asian, African American and Native American communities that rely on fish for their diet consume contaminated fish.
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Native American tribes are denied food, their economic livelihood, and cultural practices because rivers have been dammed and diverted.
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About 250,000 Californians sometimes go without water due to insufficient supply.
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Urban communities must live with toxic-laden sewage overflows and deadly run-off coursing through their streets. Almost a million residents contend with sewage contamination in their water supply
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