Plumbing the Depths: Californians Without Toilets and Running Water

California’s Human Right to Water law states that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” To date, the policy discussion on meeting California’s Human Right to Water has focused largely on expanding and improving drinking water utility services in the state, and improving the quality and reliability of drinking water for rural households using domestic wells. Sanitation and wastewater have received less attention. There also has been less attention paid to individuals and households in communities served by functional water and wastewater utilities but lacking the plumbing necessary to access those services.

To partially remedy these gaps, we set out to better understand the number of Californians with inadequate access to toilets and hot and cold running water.