By Lisa McEwen, SJV Water
Residents of East Orosi played host to Governor Gavin Newsom Tuesday, who briefly stopped in the tiny community nestled against the foothills of northern Tulare County to sign three bills guaranteeing them an end to decades worth of dirty water flowing to their homes.
Newsom was flanked by Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) and state Water Resources Control Board president Joaquin Esquivel in the backyard of Carlos Sanchez’ home as he signed the bills:
- AB 805 by Arambula, which mandates a public process to determine whether an administrator is needed for local sewer systems and empowers the state to provide technical and financial support. Under the new law, the state water board can designate failing systems for administrative intervention.
- SB 1188 by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) to support small water systems by providing them technical resources to prevent failure.
- AB 2454 by Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-Milpitas) that would require rental property owners to participate in state programs for domestic well testing and to determine if remediation is needed to make the water clean.
Residents chanted “Si, se puede” (Spanish for “Yes, we can”) and cheered “Bravo!” as Newsom signed the bills with a flourish. The event was not open to the public but SJV Water gained access.
“On behalf of 40 million Caifornians, you deserve better and we can do better,” Newsom said to the small crowd. “I apologize for taking this long but I want to compliment the leadership that helped deliver this and the commitment we’re making to follow through. Once you sign a bill, that’s not the end of the process, it’s the beginning of driving that accountability.”
Sanchez has been one of several residents who have protested water quality and voiced frustrations with mismanagement by the East Orosi Community Services District.
Board members struggled to make a quorum for meetings and did not respond to complaints while the 950 residents repeatedly dealt with drinking water quality issues and sewage overflow in their homes and yards due to dilapidated infrastructure, the victim of East Orosi’s poverty and a historic lack of oversight, according to Community Water Center, an advocacy group that has been working with residents.
Access to safe sanitation remains a challenge for many rural disadvantaged communities. Community Water Center said in a press release that while efforts have been made to improve drinking water access, parity with wastewater service is needed.
“AB 805 builds upon successes addressing failing drinking water systems and extends those services for wastewater systems. Californians deserve both clean drinking water and reliable wastewater service,” the release stated.
Additionally, two community wells are contaminated with nitrates, and the state Water Board has provided bottled water for about a decade. In 2020, the Water Board ordered the city of Orosi to connect homes served by the East Orosi CSD as part of a forced consolidation for drinking water supply.
Homes are all on septic tanks, but pipelines move the sewage to a collection system, which the CSD is responsible for. Residents pay $39 a month for that service.
Sanchez spoke to Newsom for several minutes after his speech to show a video of dirty brown water coming out of his hose.
“That’s what you pay 39 bucks a month for?” Newsom asked in disbelief as Sanchez pointed out pebbles and chunks of calcium.
“This home is something my parents’ left me,” he said. “People ask me why I don’t leave. But I can’t leave, my heart is here. I am so appreciative that you are signing this bill because this will give us the opportunity to continue this fight.”
AB 805 will allow the state board to appoint administrators to step in and manage sewer services, bringing in the expertise and accountability necessary to protect public health.
The bill is a symbol of California’s broader efforts to ensure that all residents, particularly in underserved rural areas, have access to clean, safe, and affordable water for drinking, cooking, and sanitation.
In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 685, making California the first state in the nation to legislatively guarantee the human right to water. Twelve years later, Newsom said the issue has been a top priority since the inception of his administration but acknowledged in an interview with SJV Water that there is more work remaining.
Enhancing the SAFER (Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience) drinking water program, which provides emergency and long-term solutions for residents and communities, will be needed.
“It is fully clear to me on this trajectory that we may need to do it,” he said. “And that’s been the challenge of the state’s resources the last couple of years. We have been stretched in that respect. It would be nice for me, selfishly, to end as I began on this. I would like to put a punctuation point on these efforts. I hope you would appreciate marginally that I am here, I am putting myself out here on this issue and not hiding behind the bear in the governor’s office where bills are often signed.”
The SAFER drinking water program has distributed more than $1 billion in grants to disadvantaged communities. Since 2019, nearly 900,000 more Californians now have access to clean drinking water through state efforts.
Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the state water board, also spoke with SJV Water after the event. Esquivel said while he is proud of the state’s progress made thus far in helping residents such as those in East Orosi access clean drinking water, there is more work to be done.
“Consolidation authorities, like what we discussed here today are important, and I think there’s an opportunity to improve that process,” he said. “It’s important that the process is community-focused, but how do we shorten the timelines? We’re definitely in that mode. As we’re halfway through SAFER, we need to be able to articulate what it is that we can get done with the funds we have.”
