The country has several intersecting challenges it needs to address simultaneously: ending the COVID pandemic, rebuilding the American economy, mitigating and adapting to the climate change, and making our communities better for everyone. Infrastructure is key to addressing each of those challenges.

Infrastructure can jumpstart the economy and give people jobs. It can lift up the quality of life in communities that have been underserved. It can make us more resilient to climate change. The only way we tackle the biggest issues of our time is through strategic investment in and prioritization of infrastructure.

When we look back at the past year, the essential nature of transit service, clean water so people can wash their hands, high-speed internet so kids can learn at home and people can work from home – everything comes back to infrastructure. Our economy, public health and safety, and quality of life all depend on the interwoven systems of transit, communications, water, and energy.

Water districts work hard at keeping rates as reasonable as possible while maintaining and upgrading infrastructure that is essential to delivering safe drinking water to their communities.

In addition, under California Proposition 218, water agencies can only charge a customer the proportional costs of delivering that service. Learn more about what is included in your water rates below.

  • Before it reaches your tap, your water is pumped from underground aquifers, and then filtered, cleaned, tested before being sent into the distribution system. Local water agencies invest millions of dollars each year to ensure safe and reliable supplies of water by upgrading pipes, technology and treatment plants.
  • Much of California’s existing water infrastructure is aging and approaching the end of its useful lifespan. This infrastructure must be renovated or replaced to ensure that the public continues to have access to safe drinking water.
  • California has the most stringent water quality standards in the nation. Advances in water monitoring technology allow for the detection of contaminants at ever-smaller concentrations, while improving water treatment technology allows Californians access to high-quality, safe drinking water supplies. These important safety measures come at a cost, and water suppliers across California spend millions in testing each year.

Learn more about what is behind the value of water with this infographic.