More communities gained access to safe drinking water across the state this spring as the State Water Resources Control Board’s Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) program accelerates infrastructure projects aimed at delivering safe and affordable drinking water for every Californian.
New treatment facilities, consolidations and pipelines are among the solutions that have broken ground or reached completion in Fresno, Monterey, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino and Tulare counties in recent weeks. Collectively, these projects received $70 million in construction funding through the SAFER drinking water program and will benefit more than 22,000 people in mostly small, disadvantaged communities.
“More and more projects are reaching milestones throughout California as the state hits its stride in expanding access to safe drinking water,” said State Water Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel. “Close collaboration with local and regional partners in the early years of the SAFER program allowed us to build a pipeline of projects that is now bringing safe drinking water to communities at a far faster pace and scale.”
Currently, there are over 140 drinking water projects under construction that have received funding through SAFER. A few examples:
Tombstone Territory (Fresno County): Gov. Gavin Newsom in May announced the groundbreaking of a $5 million consolidation project with the City of Sanger that will secure safe drinking water for 150 residents who currently rely on private wells. The consolidation, which was fully funded through state grants, will complete and deliver safe drinking water to residents’ homes in December.
Eastern Coachella Valley Avenue 66 Transmission Main Project (Riverside County): This week, the Coachella Valley Water District announced the completion the Avenue 66 Transmission Main Project, also known as the Saint Anthony Mobile Home Park Water Consolidation project, which is connecting about 370 residents in three disadvantaged communities to the district’s water system. The transmission pipe along Avenue 66 is the backbone of a larger, multi-year infrastructure project that will bring safe drinking water to thousands of residents in the Eastern Coachella Valley. The project received over $32 million in state funding – $23.4 million of which was a grant from the SAFER program.
City of Colfax (Placer County): Placer County Water Agency broke ground this month on a new drinking water treatment facility in the disadvantaged community of Colfax that will benefit 3,000 people and consolidate struggling water systems along the I-80 corridor, after its completion in early 2027. The agency received a $2.5 million grant and $10 million loan at zero interest from the SAFER program toward its $40 million project to replace the plant, plus an additional $4.5 million expedited drinking water grant for the first of its consolidations, with the Shady Glen Mobile Home Park.
West Goshen (Tulare County): The small, severely disadvantaged community of West Goshen celebrated the groundbreaking this month of a consolidation project that will connect its 175 residents to Cal Water Visalia and provide safe drinking water to their homes by early 2026. The $3.4M project is funded by the Department of Water Resources, with $540,000 in technical and planning assistance provided through the SAFER program.
Moss Landing (Monterey County): Pajaro Sunny Mesa Community Services District broke ground in May on a consolidation that will expand the current infrastructure of the Springfield water system to secure safe drinking water for nearly 400 residents, including 20 households currently dependent on domestic wells. The $15 million project, which was facilitated through SAFER and fully funded through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, will be completed in 2026.
City of Needles (San Bernardino County): After years of struggling with poor water quality and aging facilities, the city of Needles in April celebrated the completion of a new water system in that meets all state and federal standards and ensures reliable access to safe drinking water for its 5,000 residents. The board fully funded the planning and construction of the water system through a $14 million grant from SAFER.
In California, over 98% of the population receives drinking water from utilities and other water providers that meet all federal and state standards. Through the SAFER program, the board leverages financial, regulatory and technical assistance to expand access to safe drinking water to the remaining 2% who are served by failing water systems. Since the program began in 2019, the board has provided over $1 billion in drinking water grants for projects in disadvantaged communities, and over 300 water systems have returned to compliance with drinking water standards, improving access to safe drinking water for over 2 million Californians. During this period, over 140 consolidations were completed, benefiting over 300,000 people.
