AB 1242

Reading this article in the San Francisco Chronicle , I was reminded of my five year old twins. Sometimes when they get mad at each other, they stomp their feet and threaten to throw their toys. Its behavior that I’m sure they’ll grow out of…at least I hope.

But, those hopes were dampened a little when I read about the implicit threat coming from Governor Schwarzenegger to veto all 700 + bills sitting on his desk if the legislature does not reach an agreement with him on a water package by Friday. As we saw towards the end of the session, a package acceptable to the Governor must include more surface storage (or “dams” as you and I might call them), and the package discussed last month included legislation that would facilitate the construction of a costly and environmentally damaging peripheral canal.

The Governor made a similar threat last month, and then retaliated by vetoing a bill that would have honored Vietnam Veterans .

These are not trivial issues, and there are several important bills pending before the governor, including legislation that would establish a human right to water for all Californians.  AB 1242 (Ruskin) would establish clean, affordable water as a human right for all Californians. Agreement on this principle is critical to any comprehensive water solution as there are over 150,000 Californians who currently lack access to safe affordable water.

There are other bills pending that address a wide range of important issues from renewable energy to voting rights, education to health care. Rather than threatening to veto these bills, Governor Schwarzenegger should do what Governor’s are supposed to do: review the substance of the legislation and sign or veto based on their merits.

Our state water issues desperately need to be resolved, but not at the expense of the other issues facing our state. Californians can take action by urging their state legislators to not sign off on a bad water package just because the Governor is throwing a tantrum.

-Mark Schlosberg

All school children should have access to free, clean water at school. Yet according to an Associated Press investigation released last week, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country is unsafe to drink, containing “unsafe levels of lead, pesticides, and other toxins.” This situation is unacceptable and requires swift government action.

Much of our water infrastructure in the U.S. was built 100 years ago or more and is starting to break down. Without significant federal investment to upgrade our systems, reports like this will only become more common.

Lacking sufficient funds to improve situations such as this, local governments are turning to bottled water as the answer to their water woes. According to the AP, Baltimore spent some $2.5 million on bottled water over the past six years. Rather than subsidizing an environmentally harmful product , we should instead invest in our future public water resources.

 The AP article cites California’s Central Valley as one of the worst locations in the country for water in schools. This is no surprise to those who have been talking, advocating, and litigating for years about this issue. Right now, over 150,000 Californians lack access to clean, affordable water.

This year a bill, AB 1242 (Ruskin), would establish a state human right to water. It is co-sponsored by Food & Water Watch along with Alliance for Democracy, Community Water Center, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry Action Network - CA, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and Urban Semillas. The law would explicitly provide that every Californian has a right to clean affordable water for basic human needs. The bill passed the California legislature and is now with the Governor. California residents should call Governor Schwarzenegger and ask him to sign AB 1242.

These initiatives alone will not solve all the problems with water quality in schools, but they would be a good start. We also need to address the source of contamination of groundwater that so many of the schools with poor water quality rely on. We need to work towards comprehensive water solutions that address chemical contaminants, agricultural runoff, and private control of water. We need strong state and federal action and we need it soon. The health of our children depends on it.