Thirsty For Justice Discussed
At Universalist Unitarian Church

Thirsty for Justice: The Struggle for the Human Right to Water screened at the Universalist Unitarian Church where each month the Social Concerns Action Committee invites the public to watch and then discuss a film. The documentary focuses on the human right to have clean water.

The film travels to different communities which have been affected by contaminated water systems. Seville, a rural area in California, is home to just over 400 people and has had contaminated water since the 1960s. San Jerardo Cooperative is a small community of farm-working families located in the Salinas Valley where three water wells have been contaminated. Residents were cooking, bathing, and drinking without ever knowing the dangers of their water.

Sonia Lopez, a San Jerardo Cooperative, said she began getting sick and experiencing skin rashes, eye irritation, and after a shower clumps of her hair would fall out of her head. Chemicals were poisoning the water such as synthetic fertilizers and nitrates. Although San Jerardo has clean water today because of a new $5 million water system, it comes at a big cost. Their water bill used to be between $20 and $30, but is now about $113 each month which leaves many living paycheck to paycheck.

The message of the film was clear: water is a human right.

In 2008, a group of people formed a coalition and tried to get California to pass a bill that would make it a right for everyone to have clean water. This would make the bill the first of its kind in the nation. It was passed the first time in 2008, but vetoed by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The coalition didn’t give up and tried again, but with Jerry Brown as new governor this time.

Still, they faced huge opposition from many California legislators who didn’t want the Human Right to Water Bill (AB685) passed. Finally in 2012, the bill was passed. Written into California law was, “It is hereby declared to be the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.”

After the film, guest Frank Brommenschenkel, former manager of the Santa Paula Water Works, was supposed to be present for a Q&A session, but could not attend due to a medical reason. So instead Dan Totheroh, a former worker for the United Water Conservation District, stepped in and took a couple questions about the water in Santa Paula.

“[The film] showed the diversity of the quality of water that we have even in the state of California where some people have water that’s dangerous to drink,” Totheroh said. “Obviously there is and should be a concern with that.”