Drinking Water

They’re everywhere. They last forever. They’re dangerous. They’re expensive to remove. And many Californians don’t even know they’re drinking them.

Desalination is a proven technology with more than 20,000 facilities worldwide, providing millions with safe drinking water every day.

Lawmakers approved policies and funding that address environmental injustices, protect natural resources and build climate change resilience.

From climate-driven natural disasters to crumbling infrastructure and threats of mass shootings, modern dangers are sending California kids home from class in record numbers. The trend is only beginning to show up on lawmakers' radar.

California could be facing a drinking water crisis. Opioid seller faces sanction. Cannabis firm told to stop claiming health benefits of CBD.

Cap-and-trade revenue to be used to treat drinking water. Republicans lament gas tax hike. Gig work becomes a campaign issue.

Combat climate change, or clean up the water? Legislators chose to dip into a greenhouse gas fund to fight California’s drinking water problem. The move alarmed environmentalists and legislators on both sides of the aisle — but it could soon become the norm.

r Resources Board chair delivers message to auto industry. Proposed clean water tax hits snag. California Democrats prepare to elect new chair.

Groundwater basins drawn down by years of drought contain dangerously high levels of nitrates, arsenic and other contaminants. One million Californians don't have safe drinking water and nearly 2 million more are not served by a regulated public water system and may not know if their water is contaminated. The Legislature must step in.

The historical record no longer brackets what we can expect in intensity or duration from drought, flood, or wildfire. So we cannot move quickly enough to cut emissions from our millions of tailpipes in California, and we must change state governance, funding, and planning as necessary—no matter how difficult—to get ready for the worst.