Timeline: California Human Right to Water
Five years ago, on September 25, 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law declaring a right “to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” The law resulted in substantial changes in policy and practice.
Click the arrows on the interactive timeline to explore legal and political milestones as California has implemented the landmark bill.
Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton
