Can a $10 billion climate bond address California’s water contamination problem?
Tucked in a $10 billion climate bond on the November ballot is an earmark to improve drinking water quality for communities such as East Orosi. Proposition 4 would allocate $610 million for clean, safe, and reliable drinking water and require at least 40% be spent on projects that benefit vulnerable populations or disadvantaged communities. But it’s a fraction of what the state says is needed. While most Californians have access to safe water, roughly 750,000 people as of late October are served by 383 failing water systems, many clustered in remote and sparsely populated areas. A June assessment by the California State Water Resources Control Board pegged the cost of repairing failing and at-risk public water systems at about $11.5 billion.
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