A Survey of Efforts to Achieve Universal Access to Water and Sanitation in California

Pacific Institute | April 12th, 2018

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 64/292, which declared that “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation [is] a human r

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 64/292, which declared that “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation [is] a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.” Two years later, the California Legislature added section 106.3 to the California Water Code (Section 106.3), which declared that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” Although the formulation of the human right to water (HRTW) for sanitary purposes in Section 106.3 is not as explicit as the UN resolution, it is also true that the availability of safe and clean drinking water presupposes the sanitary disposal of human waste. Accordingly, the statute has served as the touchstone for California drinking water and sanitation efforts. Since 2012, California government agencies and non-governmental stakeholders have focused most of their efforts on drinking water. These efforts, while commendable, have been incomplete. First, the need for drinking water access and quality continues to outstrip capacity and resources. Second, while sanitation requires an adequate supply of water, it also requires an array of public and private infrastructure and services for the hygienic disposal of human waste, including household-level infrastructure like a toilet or septic tank. This paper will focus on needs, efforts, and recommendations to advance the right to water for drinking and sanitary purposes. First, we summarize the legislative efforts that set the foundation for the adoption of HRTW in California. Second, we discuss the challenges facing residents of disadvantaged unincorporated communities, particularly in light of California’s recent drought, to illustrate the drinking water and sanitation needs of these communities. Third, we review the state’s implementation of Section 106.3 and efforts by non-governmental stakeholders to advance HRTW, focusing on the need to invest in programs and funds to address the right to water for sanitary purposes. Last, we provide recommendations to tackle the existing and ongoing needs related to sanitation, with a focus on household-level infrastructure.

Concentrations, Loads, and Associated Trends of Nutrients Entering the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | December 15th, 2021

Statistical modeling of water-quality data collected at the Sacramento River at Freeport and San Joaquin River near Vernalis, California, USA, was used to examine trends

Statistical modeling of water-quality data collected at the Sacramento River at Freeport and San Joaquin River near Vernalis, California, USA, was used to examine trends in concentrations and loads of various forms of dissolved and particulate nitrogen and phosphorus that entered the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) from upstream sources between 1970 and 2019. Ammonium concentrations and loads decreased at the Sacramento River site from the mid-1970s through 1990 because of the consolidation of wastewater treatment and continuously reduced from the mid-1970s to 2019 at the San Joaquin River site. Current ammonium concentrations are mostly below 4 µM (0.056 mg N L–1) at both sites, a concentration above which reductions in phytoplankton productivity or changes in algal species composition may occur. The Sacramento River at Freeport site is located upstream of the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District’s treatment facility’s discharge point; nutrient water quality there is representative of upstream sources. Inorganic nitrogen (nitrate plus ammonium) concentrations and loading differed at both sites. At the Sacramento River location, concentrations decrease in the summer agricultural season, reducing the molar ratios of nitrogen to phosphorus. In contrast, inorganic nitrogen concentrations increase in the San Joaquin River during the agricultural season as a result of irrigation runoff, increasing the molar ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus. This increase suggests a possible nitrogen limitation in the northern Delta and a phosphorus limitation in the southern Delta, as indicated by the molar ratios of bioavailable nitrogen to bioavailable phosphorus. Planned upgrades to the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (SRWTP) will reduce inorganic nitrogen inputs to the northern Delta. Consequently, the supply of bioavailable nitrogen throughout the upper estuary should diminish. Source modeling of nitrogen and phosphorus identifies agriculture, atmospheric deposition, and wastewater effluent as sources of total nitrogen in the Central Valley. In contrast, geologic sources, agriculture, and wastewater discharge are the primary sources of phosphorus.

Cultivating effective utility-regulator relationships around innovation: Lessons from four case studies in the U.S. municipal wastewater sector

PLOS | August 26th, 2022

Regulation is critical for protecting public and environmental health but is often perceived as a barrier to innovation in the U.S. municipal wastewater sector. Before a

Regulation is critical for protecting public and environmental health but is often perceived as a barrier to innovation in the U.S. municipal wastewater sector. Before a wastewater utility can implement a new technology, it must navigate applicable regulatory processes and obtain necessary approvals, often including obtaining an updated wastewater discharge permit. While all regulatory processes involve interactions between regulators and regulated entities, innovative projects may require them to engage in new ways, heightening the importance of the relationships between them. We investigated four case studies to examine how regulatory relationships affect municipal wastewater utilities’ efforts to adopt new technologies. Through cross-case analysis, we identified five interconnected characteristics of regulatory relationships that appear to facilitate innovation, and whose absence could impede it: clarity, capacity building, continuity, trust, and bounded flexibility. Appropriately applied bounded flexibility—such as using regulatory discretion to tailor permits to reflect the particular risks, benefits, and information needs of the technology at issue—may be key for enabling socially and environmentally beneficial innovation. Yet all five characteristics play important and mutually reinforcing roles in supporting innovation. By cultivating these characteristics in their relationships, both utilities and regulators can take responsibility for enabling appropriate implementation of innovative technologies. However, some parties, particularly small and under-resourced utilities, may find cultivating these characteristics difficult. Therefore, sector-wide support for effective utility-regulator relationships, including coordinated regulatory and funding programs targeted to meet small utilities’ needs, may be needed to bring beneficial innovation within reach for many wastewater utilities and the communities they serve.

Facing the Climate Gap: How Environmental Justice Communities are Leading the Way to a More Sustainable and Equitable California

University of Southern California (USC) | October 31st, 2012

California has traditionally led the nation in protecting and preserving the environment – and we have proudly continued the trend with the 2006 passage and ong

California has traditionally led the nation in protecting and preserving the environment – and we have proudly continued the trend with the 2006 passage and ongoing implementation of the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). Aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and slowing climate change, AB 32 came under political attack in 2010 when an initiative, funded largely by oil refiners, sought to delay application of the legislation’s rules. Fortunately, voters soundly rejected that effort, but many observers have worried that California’s concerns about climate could wane, particularly since the actual impacts of climate change can seem abstract and far-off. Against this backdrop, a wide range of community-based organizations have been working to “make it real” by connecting the dots between global warming and human impacts, and by helping residents adapt now and not later. In what might be a surprise to some observers, many of these organizations are working with low-income communities of color – those often stereotyped as the least concerned about climate change.

Human viral nucleic acids concentrations in wastewater solids from Central and Coastal California USA

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 22nd, 2023

Longitudinal metatranscriptomic sequencing of Southern California wastewater representing 16 million people from August 2020–21 reveals widespread transcription of antibiotic resistance genes

Water Research (Elsevier) | November 22nd, 2022

Municipal wastewater provides a representative sample of human fecal waste across a catchment area and contains a wide diversity of microbes. Sequencing wastewater sample

Municipal wastewater provides a representative sample of human fecal waste across a catchment area and contains a wide diversity of microbes. Sequencing wastewater samples provides information about human-associated and medically important microbial populations, and may be useful to assay disease prevalence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Here, we present a study in which we used untargeted metatranscriptomic sequencing on RNA extracted from 275 sewage influent samples obtained from eight wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) representing approximately 16 million people in Southern California between August 2020 – August 2021. We characterized bacterial and viral transcripts, assessed metabolic pathway activity, and identified over 2,000 AMR genes/variants across all samples. Because we did not deplete ribosomal RNA, we have a unique window into AMR carried as ribosomal mutants. We show that AMR diversity varied between WTPs (as measured through PERMANOVA, P < 0.001) and that the relative abundance of many individual AMR genes/variants increased over time (as measured with MaAsLin2, Padj < 0.05). Similarly, we detected transcripts mapping to human pathogenic bacteria and viruses suggesting RNA sequencing is a powerful tool for wastewater-based epidemiology and that there are geographical signatures to microbial transcription. We captured the transcription of gene pathways common to bacterial cell processes, including central carbon metabolism, nucleotide synthesis/salvage, and amino acid biosynthesis. We also posit that due to the ubiquity of many viruses and bacteria in wastewater, new biological targets for microbial water quality assessment can be developed. To the best of our knowledge, our study provides the most complete longitudinal metatranscriptomic analysis of a large population's wastewater to date and demonstrates our ability to monitor the presence and activity of microbes in complex samples. By sequencing RNA, we can track the relative abundance of expressed AMR genes/variants and metabolic pathways, increasing our understanding of AMR activity across large human populations and sewer sheds.

Measuring Progress Toward Universal Access to Water and Sanitation in California Defining Goals, Indicators, and Performance Measures

Pacific Institute | September 13th, 2018

Most people in California take for granted the water and sanitation in their homes. They turn the tap and clean, relatively inexpensive, abundant water flows out.

Most people in California take for granted the water and sanitation in their homes. They turn the tap and clean, relatively inexpensive, abundant water flows out. They flush the toilet, and waste vanishes. Yet there are communities in California who do not have these basic necessities in their homes. In January 2018, over half a million Californians were served by water utilities that were out of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The worst outbreak of Hepatitis A in recent memory occurred in 2016-2018 due to open defecation and lack of handwashing facilities for persons experiencing homelessness. California’s tribes continue to face problems of poor housing and water and sanitation service, with two-thirds of tribal communities reporting inadequate home plumbing in 2015. And the cost of water has increased for many, particularly among small and medium size systems, with 39 community water systems in the state charging more than $100 a month for 12 CCF of water. In response to the problem, California enacted the Human Right to Water in 2012, declaring that “Every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) further recognized the need to address water and sanitation for disadvantaged communities when it adopted a resolution directing staff to “develop performance measures for the evaluation of the board’s progress towards the realization of the human right to water, evaluate that progress, and explore ways to make that information more readily available to the public,” and to “work with... stakeholders to develop new or enhance existing systems to collect the data needed to identify and track communities that do not have, or are at risk of not having, safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” This report offers a unified framework on how to measure progress toward universal access to water and sanitation in California.

Plumbing the Depths: Californians Without Toilets and Running Water

Pacific Institute | July 15th, 2019

California’s Human Right to Water law states that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption

California’s Human Right to Water law states that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” To date, the policy discussion on meeting California’s Human Right to Water has focused largely on expanding and improving drinking water utility services in the state, and improving the quality and reliability of drinking water for rural households using domestic wells. Sanitation and wastewater have received less attention. There also has been less attention paid to individuals and households in communities served by functional water and wastewater utilities but lacking the plumbing necessary to access those services. To partially remedy these gaps, we set out to better understand the number of Californians with inadequate access to toilets and hot and cold running water.