Title
Proclaim the establishment of County policy that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking and sanitary purposes and that this right is extended to all residents of Monterey County including disadvantaged individuals and groups and communities in rural and urban areas.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Proclaim the establishment of County policy that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking and sanitary purposes and that this right is extended to all residents of Monterey County including disadvantaged individuals and groups and communities in rural and urban areas.
SUMMARY:
The County of Monterey would declare through a proclamation that it is the established policy of the County that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes. This proclamation intends to establish the public policy of safe and clean water for human use as County policy. This policy is intended to inform the County when implementing policies and regulations affecting water supply and usage and to help the County to focus on the issue of drinking water pollution in certain Monterey County domestic wells and water systems as well as potential future threats due to drought and a lack of available drinking water, while not impacting water rights or expanding or creating new County obligations.
DISCUSSION:
On September 26, 2012 Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 685 (AB 685) establishing a state policy that every Californian has a human right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible drinking water. AB 685 codified this state policy in California Water Code section 106.3. AB 685 made California the first in the nation to legislatively recognize the human right to water. AB 685 also require...
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