Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Keywords
water poverty, human right to water, access to clean water, california, san Joaquin valley, fresno, rural communities, disadvantaged communities, community participation, community mobilization, agriculture and politics, social stratification
Department
Political Science
Major
Political Science
Abstract
California, the eighth largest economy in the world, has nearly one million residents that lack daily access to clean drinking water, yet it recently became the first state in the US to declare water a human right through the passage of 2013 Assembly Bill 685. The majority of water quality violations take place in the rural San Joaquin Valley in unincorporated, low-income communities, which have difficulties accessing clean, drinking water due to issues including quality, affordability, and physical availability. The role of community participation in improving water poverty has been studied extensively in developing countries but its impact is infrequently studied in the developed world. This study uses a comparative case study approach to examine how community resources affect access to drinking water in the San Joaquin Valley. The study finds that community participation, interaction with outside actors, and public resources can improve the quality of drinking water in rural, disadvantaged communities.
See Alyssa Galik's honors thesis on this topic.
Faculty Mentor
Candice Ortbals
Funding Source or Research Program
Political Science Honors Program
Presentation Session
Session A
Location
Plaza Classroom 189
Start Date
3-4-2015 5:30 PM
End Date
3-4-2015 5:45 PM
Included in
Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, American Politics Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Infrastructure Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, Rural Sociology Commons, Social Policy Commons, Social Welfare Commons
Water Poverty in Disadvantaged Communities in California
Plaza Classroom 189
California, the eighth largest economy in the world, has nearly one million residents that lack daily access to clean drinking water, yet it recently became the first state in the US to declare water a human right through the passage of 2013 Assembly Bill 685. The majority of water quality violations take place in the rural San Joaquin Valley in unincorporated, low-income communities, which have difficulties accessing clean, drinking water due to issues including quality, affordability, and physical availability. The role of community participation in improving water poverty has been studied extensively in developing countries but its impact is infrequently studied in the developed world. This study uses a comparative case study approach to examine how community resources affect access to drinking water in the San Joaquin Valley. The study finds that community participation, interaction with outside actors, and public resources can improve the quality of drinking water in rural, disadvantaged communities.
See Alyssa Galik's honors thesis on this topic.