A 2013 report found that over 2.8 million people in the San Joaquin Valley are served by a water system whose source water is impacted by contamination. That translates into over 265,000 people in Stanislaus County, over 80,000 people in San Joaquin County, over 450,000 people in Fresno County, and over 32,000 people in Tulare County who are served by water systems that have violated drinking water standards because of contaminants like Nitrate and Arsenic.
How has our drinking water been under attack?
- The Hydropower Policy Modernization Act of 2017 aimed to expand the definition of renewable energy to include hydropower without holding companies accountable to licensing and relicensing criteria requiring them to uphold water quality within the scope of their work.
- The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017 was passed in the house to prioritize the pesticide industry by eliminating safeguards against limiting and reporting toxic pesticide discharge into local waterways.
- The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (The Farm Bill) included efforts to get rid of oversight for pesticide use near waterways and weaken safeguards for protections of farmworkers.
We need and deserve leaders who prioritize our families and not toxic industries.