Clean Water

• In Southeast Los Angeles, there are numerous threats and obstacles preventing communities from achieving their right to water. This includes water quality threats stemming from the various industries that pollute local drinking water sources via air emissions, wastewater or storm water. All of this is overwhelming local drinking water utilities from being able to remove these contaminants effectively, and makes it costly to do so.
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• Obtaining water supplies, maintaining the health of drinking water sources and treating it can be very costly — all of which are reflected in a customer’s bills. Because of this, Southeast Los Angeles has some of the highest water rates in the county and even in the state.
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• Southeast Los Angeles has a large number of small- to medium-sized water utilities within the region. Smaller water systems are more likely to be at-risk of failure to provide safe, clean, affordable and accessible drinking water for their customers. If failures occur, it opens the potential for further privatization of water in the region, as private water companies are more likely to have the resources needed to restore the system while also having more leeway to make decisions without customer involvement or to raise water rates.

• Nationally, there are more than 100 contaminants that have to be treated or removed from drinking water. There are still a large number of potential water contaminants that are not being monitored or removed. This means that there is potential for water customers to be exposed to toxic contaminants over their lifespan, which can cause unwanted health impacts. This is especially true when small water utilities do not have the capacity or resources to remove contaminants effectively. 
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• While water is life, water quality means health. The community of Southeast Los Angeles, primarily composed of low-income people and people of color, face heavy pollution burdens from various sources that affect their quality of life. Water which is necessary for our health is not always at the quality it is supposed to be, which puts vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, or those immunocompromised at risk of developing unwanted health impacts.

Based on the list of contaminants of concern in Southeast Los Angeles we have been tracking, residents who may be exposed to contaminated drinking water can develop issues with their kidney, liver, heart, digestive tract or bladder functions, as well as organ damage and, in severe cases, cancer. In children, the effects of exposure can be more severe. For example, lead can affect adults and children differently. While almost all the impacts are the same in both age groups, children are more likely to develop cognitive issues such as potential IQ capacity, focus, behavioral issues and learning disabilities.

For more information on water quality and health, see our Water Materials and Resources List.

• Reduce or cease the release of toxic substances where possible, ensuring that the best available practices and technologies are in place to prevent the further release of toxic substances. Extended Producer Responsibility policies must also be put in place to hold toxic industries accountable for their contribution to contaminating local drinking water sources by paying fees or fines to fund investments in water technologies or infrastructure needed to treat and remove toxic contaminants.
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• Restructure California’s and Southeast Los Angeles’ water rights, groundwater rights, and water customer rights to ensure transparency, inclusiveness, and water justice between water entities and water customers, community members, and indigenous groups.

PSR-LA’s primary goal is to achieve the Human Right to Water law in Southeast Los Angeles, which established that every Californian has the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible drinking water for consumption. In practice, this looks like: 

• Addressing the numerous sources of local toxic contaminants that impact the quality of Southeast Los Angeles’ drinking water, ensuring reliable, accessible and affordable drinking water for all.
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• Preventing further privatization of drinking water systems and holding water entities accountable to providing quality drinking water to all the communities they serve.
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• Supporting local leadership and increasing the capacity of local advocates to get involved in water issues in their communities through educational opportunities and resources development.
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• Developing and pushing policies at the local, state and federal level that benefit all communities’ access to clean drinking water.