{"id":71891,"date":"2025-04-08T14:27:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T21:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=71891"},"modified":"2025-04-08T14:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T21:27:09","slug":"needles-gets-safe-drinking-water-thanks-to-state-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=71891","title":{"rendered":"Needles gets safe drinking water, thanks to state investment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n
What you need to know:<\/strong>\u00a0A state grant of $14 million has secured safe drinking water for the severely disadvantaged community of Needles.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

NEEDLES \u2013 After years of struggling with poor water quality and aging facilities, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the completion of a new water system for the City of Needles in eastern San Bernardino County. This system will ensure reliable access to safe drinking water for Needles\u2019 5,000 residents.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s announcement of the new clean water system in Needles furthers the state\u2019s goal to provide all Californians with clean and safe drinking water. Since 2019, thanks to state efforts, the number of Californians without safe drinking water has been reduced by half, from 1.6 million to about 800,000 people.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of the state\u2019s work to expand clean water access to more Californians than ever before. With today\u2019s announcement, the City of Needles now joins the 98% of Californians served by clean drinking water systems \u2013 and we won\u2019t stop until we achieve safe water for all.\u201d<\/h4>\n
Governor\u00a0Gavin Newsom<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

The state fully funded the planning and construction of Needles’ new water system through a $14 million grant from its\u00a0Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER)<\/a>\u00a0drinking water program. The project is part of Governor Newsom\u2019s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades and creating thousands of jobs across the state. Find projects building your community at\u00a0build.ca.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The program was launched after Governor Newsom signed SB 200 in 2019, establishing funding for drinking water projects through the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. The city of Needles sought help from the State Water Board after a burst pipe and lightning strike caused its 80-year-old water system, already contending with contamination issues, to fail completely in 2020.<\/p>\n

Needles\u2019\u00a0experience illustrates the challenges that small, rural disadvantaged communities often face in providing safe drinking water. With a median household income of $40,000, the city was reluctant to raise water rates to pay for improvements to its prior water system, which fell into disrepair over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project represents more than a milestone \u2014 it\u2019s a generational investment in the future of Needles,\u201d\u00a0said Patrick Martinez, Needles City Manager.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThe $14.3 million SAFER grant provided a critical opportunity to turn long-standing infrastructure challenges into a model of resilience and sustainability. In strong partnership with the State Water Resources Control Board, we are restoring public confidence, strengthening regional capacity, and positioning our community for long-term economic growth. This is the kind of forward-looking, outcomes-driven investment California needs, and the City Council is proud to help secure a stable, reliable water future for the residents of Needles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

California\u2019s SAFER drinking water program<\/h2>\n

Today, 98% of Californians are served by water systems that consistently meet state and federal drinking water standards. Through the SAFER program, the state works to establish access to safe drinking water for the remaining 2% of Californians who predominantly reside in disadvantaged communities and communities of color with drinking water contamination and aging infrastructure.<\/p>\n

SAFER leverages the State Water Resources Control Board\u2019s regulatory authorities and funding from the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund,\u00a0Propositions 1<\/a>,\u00a068<\/a>, and\u00a084<\/a>, the\u00a0Drinking Water State Revolving Fund<\/a>, and other sources to support strategies to develop and implement sustainable solutions for these disadvantaged communities and communities at risk of lacking access to safe drinking water.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What you need to know:\u00a0A state...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71892,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71891\/revisions\/71892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}