State Water Board Releases 2024 SAFER Needs Assessment by ACWA Staff Jun 27, 2024 Water News SACRAMENTO —The State Water Resources Control Board released its 2024 Drinking Water Needs Assessment, estimating a revised 5-year funding need of $11.5 billion to implement interim and long-term solutions to provide safe drinking to all Californians. This is a 13% increase in cost from the 2021 estimated cost. The Assessment estimates the local cost share at $13.9 billion over 5 years – a 456% increase. The Needs Assessment analyzes the state’s progress in achieving the Human Right to water and identifies communities with water systems that are failing and at risk of failing. The Needs Assessment also informs the prioritization of available state funding of the State Water Board’s Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) program, and tracks progress in achieve safe drinking in communities that have historically lacked solutions. ACWA supported the creation of SAFER in 2019. Established through SB 200 (Monning), funding through SAFER strengthens access to safe and affordable drinking water throughout the state, especially in disadvantaged communities. The State Water Board allocates $130 million annually toward accomplishing this goal and identifies funding priorities in consultation with advisory group members. Funding for the program sunsets in 2030. As of April 2024, nearly five years into the SAFER program, the State Water Board has distributed more than $831 million in grants for drinking water projects in California’s disadvantaged communities, and over 250 failing water systems have returned to compliance with drinking water standards, benefiting more than 2 million people.
