The tiny town of Tooleville in Tulare County has lacked access to safe drinking water for decades. That could finally change after the State Water Resources Control Board took the first step to require the nearby City of Exeter to provide water service to Tooleville residents.
"The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), Division of Drinking Water (Division) has concerns regarding Tooleville's current and historic deficiencies and the ongoing and future ability of Tooleville to provide a safe and affordable supply of drinking water to its customers," the Board wrote in a letter to Exeter's Public Works Department.
"As explained below, the Division is taking the first step towards ordering consolidation of Tooleville with the City of Exeter (City). The first step in this process is to provide a six-month period for the parties to negotiate a voluntary consolidation, pursuant to Section 116682 of the California Health and Safety Code (CHSC). This letter serves as official notification that pursuant to CHSC Section 116682(b), the City of Exeter is to negotiate with Tooleville."
Tooleville’s groundwater wells are contaminated by hexavalent chromium or chromium-6, the cancer-causing agent featured in the film “Erin Brockovich.” The majority Latino community saw 18 Safe Drinking Water Act violations from 2014-2017. The state currently provides bottled water to Tooleville’s 300+ residents.
The Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability lauded the state’s recent consolidation notice as a victory for water justice.
“After 20+ years of organizing, advocacy, and community strength, #Tooleville residents may soon gain access to safe and affordable drinking water,” the group tweeted.
The state has legal authority to order and pay for consolidation when a public water system “consistently fails to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water” to a disadvantaged community.
Read more at the Fresno Bee.
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