Water Plans

As part of a grant application I started to review water plans in the South land. As usual, I looked for mention of environmental justice in these legally mandated plans. What I found was sometimes amusing, some times alarming but most of the time, I found it "business as usual"--EJ is not taken seriously. Water plans rarely mention environmental justice. If they do mention it, it is mentioned in passing along with census tract data to define a Disadvantaged Community (DAC). Prop 84 SPECIFICALLY says that a portion of monies need to be spent in DAC. One plan cited lack of water quality in EJ communities as being detrimental to their recreational opportunities. Hello, DAC are concerned about their drinking water not their jet skiing opportunties. Given these challenges, it's important to educate the community so the community takes charge and advocates before the water agencies who draw up these plans. Amazing.