SJSU-Led Study Finds Household Water Insecurity Persists Across California Despite Human Right to Water Policies

New open-access study offers first representative statewide look at how Californians experience water access, affordability and quality

A new San José State University-led study finds that many California households continue to experience water insecurity despite the state's Human Right to Water policies and major investments in drinking water infrastructure.

The open-access article, "Safe, Secure, and Affordable? The State of Household Water Insecurity in California," was published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association. The study offers the first representative statewide look at household water insecurity in California, using data from the 2021 CalSpeaks survey.

The research was led by Melissa Beresford, associate professor of anthropology at San José State University , who developed the household water insecurity survey module with a multi-institutional research team. The study was funded by the CSU Social Science Research and Instructional Council CalSpeaks Fellowship , which supports CSU researchers in using the CalSpeaks statewide survey panel.

"California has made important progress toward recognizing and investing in the Human Right to Water, but our study shows that many households are still experiencing water insecurity in ways that are not fully captured by data from water systems and utilities alone," said Beresford. "Research in low- and middle-income countries around the world has shown that household water insecurity is multidimensional - shaped by access, affordability, quality, reliability, worry and trust - but we have had far less statewide household-level data in high-income contexts like California. Our research shows that asking California households directly about these experiences reveals more persistent water insecurity problems. And that information is crucial for continuing to advance the Human Right to Water in our state."

Using conservative estimates, the study found that nearly a quarter of surveyed households worried about having enough water to meet their needs, 15% worried about health impacts from water, and 12% experienced three or more of eight household-level water insecurity indicators.

The study also found that water insecurity is not evenly distributed. Households with non-white residents, households served by private or small water companies, and households receiving public assistance experienced disproportionately higher - and in some cases more frequent - water insecurity.

California became the first state in the nation to legally recognize the Human Right to Water in 2012, affirming that every person has the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible water for human consumption, cooking and sanitation. While existing data from water systems and utilities are essential for tracking compliance, infrastructure and water quality, Beresford and her co-authors argue that these data do not fully capture how people experience water in their homes.

The researchers measured multiple dimensions of water insecurity, including access, affordability, perceived water quality, trust, worry, shame and conflict, and developed a composite measure based on eight survey indicators to understand how these experiences overlap within households.

"One of the key takeaways is that in California water insecurity is multidimensional - just like in the rest of the world," Beresford said. "Achieving water security is not only about whether a water system is technically in compliance. It is also about whether people can afford their water, trust it, access it reliably and feel confident that it is safe for their families."

The CalSpeaks survey is administered by the Institute for Social Research at Sacramento State University. The survey module used in this study was developed by Beresford and collaborators to better understand household-level experiences of water insecurity across California.

The authors say the findings point to the need for household-level monitoring that complements existing system-level data. Understanding lived experiences of water insecurity can help policymakers identify where needs persist, which communities face the greatest burdens and how future investments can more effectively advance California's Human Right to Water.

The study's co-authors are Wendy Jepson, Department of Geography, Texas A&M University; Jeremiah Osborne-Gowey, Department of Geography, Texas A&M University; Kristin Dobbin, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley; Amanda Fencl, Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists; Silvia R. González, UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute; and Gregory Pierce, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Read the article:

"Safe, Secure, and Affordable? The State of Household Water Insecurity in California"
Journal: JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
DOI: 10.1111/1752-1688.70127