California is in a decadelong drought, but the government water boards have taken on a new priority as farms turn to dust: critical race theory.
The state water board and its nine local entities have been holding public hearings and staff retreats since May 3 to address inequality in doling out the state’s water supply among disadvantaged populations. The need to address California’s racist allocation of water and too-white board staff was highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement, a state report says.
“The worldwide backlash against racism toward Black people and related Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 accelerated and informed the State Water Board’s decision to address racial inequities within the Water Boards and through the Water Boards’ work,” said the report, dated Nov. 16, 2021.
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The area has been fighting for years to increase its water allocation as agriculture is the primary industry, but state officials have cut back allocations instead. State and federal governments divert millions of gallons per year to protect endangered fish in a delta that feeds into the ocean.
As a result, farms have been going fallow or bankrupt as an expensive black market for water flourishes, a Washington Examiner investigation found.
To make matters worse, a recent state audit revealed that 920,000 residents, primarily in the Central Valley, are drinking toxic tap water possibly containing arsenic.
CALIFORNIA DAWDLES OVER FIXING ARSENIC-LADEN TAP WATER FOR THOUSANDS: AUDIT
While the report briefly mentioned this, its 10 pages offered no suggestions of solutions other than condemning racism and highlighting the struggles of Native Americans and others to obtain water rights.
“White supremacy is a systemically and institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of nations and people of color by white people for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege,” the report said. “In the United States, white supremacy led to the genocide and forced relocation of Native American people to facilitate white resettlement and the enslavement of Native American and Black people for white economic gain.”
An appendix of public comments from the various hearings revealed that some attendees were concerned with pronoun usage or whether the staff is diverse. However, others voiced concerns about water distribution.
“Stop spending public fisheries/conservation money on projects that increase water diversions from rivers with endangered salmon. Instead, spend the money repaying California tribes for water that has been, and continues to be, stolen to grow cow food and export crops,” one attendee said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The cutoff for public comment is Oct. 24, and the water boards will then develop an action plan from the data collected.
