Reporter
California was about to embark on an assessment of every at-risk drinking water system in the state. Then, the pandemic hit.
Over the past five years, hundreds of California drinking water systems have suffered damage or destruction amid the state’s increasingly intense climate-driven wildfires.
Long-term exposure to both contaminants has been linked to numerous types of cancer by the state of California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Water Agencies And Advoca
A broad coalition of business organizations, government agencies and consumer and environmental groups is pushing for increased aid for water providers to be included in the latest federal coronavirus relief bill.
This story was produced as a larger project by Kiley Russell for the 2019 Impact Fund.
His other stories include:
Pandemic could complicate implementation of new state drinking water fund
An unprecedented and fledgling statewide effort to shore up hundreds of struggling drinking water systems could face intense pressure from the novel coronavirus pandemic as the program is rolled out in coming months.
In California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, an estimated 1 million residents don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. Many water districts are facing huge challenges.
