July 8 (UPI) -- "We have Third-World conditions as it relates to drinking water," says Susana De Anda, co-founder and co-executive director of the Community Water Center, headquartered in the San Joaquin Valley.
There are about 300 communities in California whose drinking water violates health standards, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. And residents of rural, low-income communities in the valley face some of the worst water quality problems, as small and underfunded water systems struggle with contaminated groundwater.
Their drinking water is chronically contaminated with arsenic, nitrate, 1,2,3-trichloropropane and other toxins, which can takes millions of dollars to safely treat - money many communities don't have.
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