Everyone should be able to live in neighborhoods where it is safe to
breathe and drink water. Community planners can use the recommendations in this Policy Action Area to support residents' need for safe drinking water and clean air to lead fully healthy lives.

Everyone should be able to live in neighborhoods where it is safe to breathe. When ozone levels in the air are high, it can cause lung inflammation and more serious respiratory issues.

Ozone

Everyone should be able to live in neighborhoods where it is safe to breathe. Since fine particulate matter is so small, it can reach deep into people’s lungs leading adverse health outcomes.

Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

Everyone should be able to live in neighborhoods where it is safe to breathe. Since diesel particulate matter is so small, it can reach deep into people’s lungs.

Diesel Particulate Matter

Everyone should have access to safe, affordable drinking water. Water is an essential human right needed for healthy outcomes.

Drinking water standards are called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations details MCLs standards for the state. There are two basic types of MCLs standards. Primary MCLs address health concerns. Secondary MCLs include issues of aesthetics, or appearance, which include taste and odor and can affect consumer intake and confidence. The 

 maintains up-to-date information on water related laws and regulated contaminants.

Exposure to contaminated drinking water disproportionately impacts low-income communities, communities of color, and people in rural areas of the state.

 Within these communities, there is also a demonstrated mistrust of drinking water, even when the water supplies meet health standards.

 Moreover, even when water meetings safe drinking standards, it may not meet aesthetic standards including taste and odor. According to Prevention Institute’s 

, the 2015 American Housing Survey found that one in five households in the Los Angeles-Long Beach Metro Area reported their water is not safe to drink, almost three times the national average. Additionally, they noted that one in three Hispanic households and one in four Black households reported unsafe drinking water, compared to one in nine Non-Hispanic White households.

 More renters (25%) than homeowners (14%) reported unsafe drinking water, and nearly twice as many households earning less than $50,000 per year reported unsafe drinking water compared to households earning more than $50,000 annually.

Distrust of the drinking water supply can impact how people access and use water. Low-income communities and families of color often buy bottled water instead of using tap water, especially when tap water is discolored or has an odor.

 study found that Latino families spend on average 4% of their income buying bottled water.

 For many families, buying bottled water reduces the money available to purchase or secure other necessities. This is particularly concerning since the water standards for bottled water are overseen by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration and are less strict that those set by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for tap water supplies. In addition, when there is a mistrust of water supplies, sugar sweetened beverages m ay be substituted for water.

Clean Environment