For Immediate Release: July 26, 2022

Media Contact: Michelle.Sherwood@sen.ca.gov

HURTADO RELEASES STATEMENT REGARDING THE STATE AUDITOR’S REPORT ON THE HEALTH RISKS CAUSED BY CALIFORNIA’S FAILING WATER SYSTEMS

BAKERSFIELD, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement regarding the recent report from the California State Auditor’s Office, which highlights the lack of urgency to ensure that failing water systems receive needed assistance in a timely manner.

“It’s outrageous that a state as rich as California continues delivering unsafe drinking water to nearly one-million residents - with Central Valley residents most at risk. The potential consequences are catastrophic, causing long-term health problems for some of our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Senator Melissa Hurtado

“The new State Auditor’s report confirms that the California Water Resources Control Board continues to fail our families, and it reaffirms why I’ve been fighting to revamp the entire system.  Earlier this year, I called for the State Water Board to be abolished and revamped, but it is clear that the situation is only getting worse. The State Water Board is an antiquated governing body with no oversight, and it appears incapable of addressing our urgent water situation. We should declare an emergency situation and provide all the funding and resources necessary to urgently address our faulty water systems”.

The Auditor’s report stated that nearly one million Californians face possible long-term, negative health outcomes—including an increased risk of liver and kidney problems, as well as cancer—because they receive unsafe drinking water from a failing water system. The average amount of time it takes for a water system to receive assistance from the State Water Board has nearly doubled within the past five years.

Clean and safe drinking water isn’t a luxury, it’s a fundamental human right, and the people of the Central Valley deserve the same rights and dignity as the rest of California.

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 14th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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