Published: October 2018
When a person fails to pay their water utility bill, their water service can be disconnected. Lack of water in the home compromises health, and renders housing legally uninhabitable and untenantable. Shutoffs also pose a financial burden; in addition to the original debt, there are usually fees associated with late payment, notice of an impending shutoff, and service reconnection.
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Published: September 2018
In 2012, California’s Human Right to Water was passed, calling for safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water for all citizens. Yet while this statute has served as the touchstone for drinking water and sanitation efforts in the state, access to this basic right remains unrealized in many California communities.
Published: August 2018
This issue brief summarizes the current understanding of water and security threats and their links to conflict, migration, and food insecurity.
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Published: June 2018
Stormwater has traditionally been managed to mitigate flooding and protect water quality. However, its potential as a local water supply has gained recent attention in water-stressed areas. As climate change increases the risk of both floods and droughts in California, urban stormwater capture also offers a significant opportunity to enhance community resilience.
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Published: April 2018
In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the human right to water and sanitation. Two years later, in 2012, California became the first state in the nation to enact legislation recognizing the human right to water for consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.
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Published: February 2018
The newest volume in this highly regarded series, The World’s Water, Volume 9 continues to offer insights into critical global water problems, overviews of data and analysis around water use and management, and case studies of some of the greatest water challenges around the world.
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Published: February 2018
Cape Town is parched. Severe drought and high water use have collided in South Africa’s second largest city, and unless the drought breaks, residents may run out of water in the next few months when there simply isn’t enough water left to supply the drinking water taps.
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Published: February 2018
After more than three years of severe drought, Cape Town, a city of nearly 4 million people, is running out of water. “Day Zero”—the day city officials estimate the water system will be unable to provide drinking water for the taps—is less than three months away, and substantial rains are not expected before then.
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Published: August 2017
This report recognizes the need for successful corporate water stewardship to encompass sustainable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for workers in company supply chains, and offers steps for companies to take to help end the global water and sanitation crisis.
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Published: April 2017
The severe five-year drought afflicting California from 2012 to 2016 was the driest and hottest in the instrumental record. This report is a comprehensive assessment of the costs to California of lost hydroelectricity during the five years of drought.
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