SAFER Drinking Water
Welcome to the SAFER Drinking Water Site
What is SAFER?
California’s Human Right to Water law declares that “Every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water.”
The Safe And Affordable Funding For Equity and Resilience (SAFER) program is designed to ensure that Californians who lack safe, adequate, and affordable drinking water receive it as quickly as possible, and that the water systems serving them establish sustainable solutions. In doing so, SAFER minimizes the disproportionate environmental burdens experienced by some communities and advances justice for people of all incomes, races, and cultures.
How Does it Work?
Each year, Water Boards conducts a Drinking Water Needs Assessment, which identifies California water systems and domestic wells that are failing or at-risk of failing to provide safe drinking water. This informs the implementation of the SAFER Program and how communities are prioritized for engagement and funding. Using the assessment data, SAFER staff develop an annual fund expenditure plan and assist water systems in developing and implementing both short- and long-term drinking water solutions.
For community members facing water quality issues, temporary water replacement solutions, such as bottled or hauled water, may be available while their local water system develops longer-term solutions with community input. Californians who get their drinking water from private domestic wells can learn more about SAFER solutions by visiting the Strategy for Domestic Wells or emailing SAFER@waterboards.ca.gov.
Accomplishments
Calendar of Events
I am looking for...
- About SAFER
- Drinking Water Needs Assessment
- Fund Expenditure Plan
- County-wide and Regional Funding Programs
- Water Debt Relief (Arrearage Payment Program)
- Small Community Funding Application Process
- Division of Financial Assistance Statewide and Regional SAFER Programs
- SAFER Drinking Water Solutions
- Includes information about Administrators, Technical Assistance, Consolidations, and Point of Use and Point of Entry Water Treatment Systems
- Water System Engagement Unit
- Strategy for Domestic Wells
- SAFER and CA Native American Tribes
- Outreach and Engagement Strategy
- Support SAFER: How to Get Involved
Stay informed
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Need Translation or Interpretation Services?
The California Water Boards provides Language Access services in any language at no cost to you.
To request these services, or file a complaint, click on the button below to open the language access form.
The form is available in English, Español (Spanish), Tagalog, 中文 (Simplified Chinese), 한국인 (Korean), Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Punjabi).
Contact Us
- Email: SAFER@waterboards.ca.gov
- Phone: (916) 445-5615
Tribal Assistance
- Email Tribal-Liason@waterboards.ca.gov
- Phone: (916) 341-5501
