About 100 state residents who lack access to clean drinking water will head to the Capitol today and join with several lawmakers to support Brown’s proposal, which the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation will discuss during a hearing at 11 a.m. in Room 447.
"No one in this state should have to be exposed to contaminated water."
Supporters of Brown’s fund include environmental and agricultural groups who argue immediate action is necessary to save residents from contaminated drinking water.
Brown’s plan would put the State Water Resources Control Board in charge of collecting fees from residents and businesses that use public water systems.
Brown’s 2018-19 budget proposes $4.7 million to "take initial steps toward implementation" of the new fund, which includes hiring staff, developing fee collection systems and assessing how much ongoing funding may be needed to fix contaminated water systems.
Pedro Hernandez said long-term support for clean drinking water programs is needed as other funding sources, such as Proposition 1, dry up.
The Association of California Water Agencies does not support Brown’s current proposal due to its proposed tax on water users.
ACWA and more than 135 public water agencies are instead proposing an alternative funding plan to ensure clean drinking water for state residents.
"For that small fee, residents in California could help support other residents’ rights to clean drinking water," he said.
WALK OUT: California political leaders will participate in the National School Walk Out taking place around the country today in protest of gun violence following last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

About 100 state residents who lack access to clean drinking water will head to the Capitol today and join with several lawmakers to support Brown’s proposal, which the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation will discuss during a hearing at 11 a.m. in Room 447.
"No one in this state should have to be exposed to contaminated water."
Supporters of Brown’s fund include environmental and agricultural groups who argue immediate action is necessary to save residents from contaminated drinking water.
Brown’s plan would put the State Water Resources Control Board in charge of collecting fees from residents and businesses that use public water systems.
Brown’s 2018-19 budget proposes $4.7 million to "take initial steps toward implementation" of the new fund, which includes hiring staff, developing fee collection systems and assessing how much ongoing funding may be needed to fix contaminated water systems.
Pedro Hernandez said long-term support for clean drinking water programs is needed as other funding sources, such as Proposition 1, dry up.
The Association of California Water Agencies does not support Brown’s current proposal due to its proposed tax on water users.
ACWA and more than 135 public water agencies are instead proposing an alternative funding plan to ensure clean drinking water for state residents.
"For that small fee, residents in California could help support other residents’ rights to clean drinking water," he said.
WALK OUT: California political leaders will participate in the National School Walk Out taking place around the country today in protest of gun violence following last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Allegan City Manager Joel Dye says the city will spend roughly $3,000 to test for PFAS in its municipal water system.
FOX 17 reached out to a representative of Wolverine Worldwide for its input on additional cities testing for PFAS but have not heard back yet.
Though Allegan city leaders don’t have any specific concerns of activity that may have contaminated its water, Dye says it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“We’re just trying to be proactive.
I don’t want to use the words ‘Getting out in front,’ but just, you know, do kind of a gut check.
Where are we in Allegan?” Allegan’s municipal water system pumps roughly one million gallons per day to about 1,900 homes and businesses.
“We’re an independent system," Dye says.
"Our water is source from an aquifer about 80 feet below ground level.
We just want to make sure it continues being safe.” Dye says the city’s goal is to send water samples to a laboratory with Pace Analytical in the next month or two.
He says the results will be made public as soon as they are available.

A ‘do not drink’ notice was issued to locals last week, after it was discovered that the Fethard PWS (Public Water Supply) was contaminated with kerosene.
As well as this, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine confirmed that this warning would also apply to animals.
Areas affected include Fethard, Killenaule, Gortnahoe, Ballysloe, Ballynonty, Moyglass, Mullinahone, Drangan, Glengoole, Cloneen, Ballinure, Killusty and surrounding areas.
It is believed that the ‘do not drink’ notice could remain in place for a number of weeks.
At such a busy time of year, this contamination has led to unnecessary stress on farmers, the chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA’s) Tipperary South branch, Erica O’Keeffe, recently told AgriLand.
Glanbia is also continuing to provide its suppliers with water in order to prevent disruptions to milk production on farms.
Farmers who don’t have a private well are relying on neighbours to supply them with water, O’Keeffe added.
Water tankers have also been dispatched by Irish Water to the affected localities for human consumption.
Both Irish Water and Tipperary County Council reminded customers in the Fethard region that, as a partial supply returned over the weekend, the ‘do not drink’ notice remains in place until further notice.
In a statement, Irish Water said: “Good progress has been made in managing the network to restore water for washing and other sanitary purposes – and the majority of people on the scheme should have a water supply over the coming days.

A pollution alert has been sounded after a diesel spillage entered surface water drains in Horsham.
Specialists from the Evironment Agency are currently monitoring an area near Horsham Park in case of contamination to watercourses but say there is ‘low risk’.
The Agency says it was called to deal with a spill of red diesel via an industrial estate in Horsham on Friday and urged Horsham District Council to monitor the pond in Horsham Park in case of contamination.
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We worked closely with our professional partners in response to this incident to reduce the risk of harm to the environment.
“Thankfully there was a low risk to watercourses and groundwater as a result of the spill, but this continues to be closely monitored.
“We advised Horsham District Council to monitor Horsham Park in case the pollutant entered any of the ponds on site via surface water drains.
Weirs were raised at the park to reduce this risk.
“Members of the public are urged to report incidents of pollution to us via our 24 hour emergency hotline on 0800 807060.”

Representatives from Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Risk Management, PDC Engineers, R&M Consultants and Shannon & Wilson, Inc. will be in attendance.
From 4:30-5:15 p.m., presentations will be given by PDC Engineers and R&M Consultants to outline their involvement.
From 5:15-7 p.m., representatives from state agencies will answer one-on-one questions.
For affected properties to be hooked up to College Utilities, individual property owners must file with the Division of Risk Management, according to a news release from Fairbanks International Airport.
On Oct. 27, the airport was alerted to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, in ground water at the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Training Areas.
Four of six wells tested had concentrations higher than the Environmental Protection Agency health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion.
Of the 158 business and residential wells adjacent to the airport that have been tested, 58 exceed the health advisory limit, 92 have tested below the level and 44 have shown no signs of PFAS, according to the release.
Fairbanks International Airport is the third Interior Alaska location to discover PFAS contamination.
For more information visit dot.alaska.gov/faigroundwater or contact Sammy Loud at 474-2522 or sam.loud@alaska.gov.
Contact the newsroom at 459-7572.

The nonprofit West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC), who owns and manages the Art Van Sports Complex (AVSC) at 3300 10 Mile Rd.
NE in Plainfield Township, today announced that its water is considered safe from Perflourinated Sulfonic Acid (PFAS/PFOA/PFOS) contaminants.
A recent water analysis of its ballfield irrigation water that comes from two wells on the complex property has shown that no contaminants were detected.
ALS Global Laboratory analyzed the irrigation water sample on behalf of FTCH Feb. 1, and the primary findings of the test indicated that any concentrations of PFOS and PFOA chemicals are below the detection limits of the analysis method.
“While the WMSC never received any indication of water contamination, we wanted to initiate our own study to ensure that all water at the Art Van Sports Complex is safe for our patrons,” said Mike Guswiler, president.
“We hope these findings reassure our athletes and their families who enjoy this complex that this is a safe environment to play ball.” Separate from the wells that supply strictly irrigation water for the ballfields, the Art Van Sports Complex sources water from the Plainfield Township Water Treatment Plant for drinking fountains, concessions and bathrooms.
While Plainfield Township’s water was deemed safe (PFAS sampling at 6.8ppt based on DEQ safe limit of 70ppt) in its most recent test, the township is in the process of putting in place a granular-activated carbon filter at its water treatment facility, which is intended to completely remove any PFAS levels.
The filter should be in place before the first tournament of the season at the Art Van Sports Complex.
“We appreciate Plainfield Township taking this proactive and voluntary step to remove all levels of PFAS in the drinking water that sources the AVSC and the surrounding area,” said Guswiler.
“We want to give our guests every confidence that they will have a safe and positive experience at the AVSC.” The WMSC will post updated information on this issue at www.westmisports.com/venues/art-van-complex.

News that the state of Minnesota recently settled a lawsuit against 3M caught our eye.
That’s the company whose chemicals were used by Wolverine Worldwide to water-proof shoes – chemicals that have now contaminated drinking water in the Grand Rapids area.
The $850 million settlement was over water contamination from similar chemicals that are all part of a broader group called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Studies suggest they’re linked with various health problems, including cancers and miscarriages.
And they’ve been found in groundwater in 28 sites in 14 communities around Michigan.
We wondered how the Minnesota lawsuit could inform Michigan’s response to the PFAS contamination.
Elizabeth Dunbar covered this lawsuit for Minnesota Public Radio and joined Stateside today to explain what led to the lawsuit, why the state settled for much less than initially requested, what the state plans to do with that money, and what this might mean for states like Michigan seeking funds to alleviate problems with PFAS.
(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Ministry of Health on Saturday (Mar 3) rubbished claims of a food poisoning outbreak linked to the safety of the water supply in the Klang Valley.
A message circulating on WhatsApp claimed there was a salmonella outbreak in the area, the New Straits Times reported.
It added that the message purported to be from a doctor in a government hospital, and urged people to be cautious when consuming food and drink in eateries.
Malaysia’s Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that the ministry had confirmed the information contained in the message was false.
"Based on checks and verification, no increase in the occurrence of food poisoning has been reported," he said.
"The occurrence of food poisoning cases is currently isolated and under control, and has nothing to do with water supply or water supply disruption."
"The Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the status of food poisoning cases," he said, adding that the public should not worry and should refrain from trusting any information which has not been verified by the ministry.

Officials with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) were on hand Thursday night in Blades for a public meeting to provide an update on the areas water supply that was found to be contaminated by perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).
While the town of Blades’ water was considered safe to consume, sampling of private wells in the vicinity was continuing, according to DNREC.
Of the 44 private wells sampled so far by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), three have returned PFCs above the EPA’s health advisory of 70 parts per trillion (70/ppt).
Homeowners for all three wells were notified by DNREC and the Division of Public Health (DPH), and were provided with home carbon filtration systems for their water supply.
DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin said plating facilities that operated in the area may have used PFCs; however, he declined to name which ones, and cited an ongoing investigation.
"So, from a cautious standpoint, we decided to test the wells in Blades and we got those results back on February 7th.
What I can tell you is we don’t know what caused it.
We know the sources, we just, from a targeting standpoint knew that plating operations tended historically to use PFCs in their operations."
Those filtration systems would be available to those residences both above, and just below, the EPA’s health advisory.
Both DNREC and DPH, in conjunction with the town of Blades, would continue to provide alternative water to any area residents who requested it.