Environmental Justice
Photo from Locke Asian Pacific Spring Festival.
Approximately 27 million people in the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and Southern California, or 3 of 5 Californians, including millions of people in disadvantaged communities, receive clean affordable water that flows through the State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure in the Delta. One of the objectives of the Delta Conveyance Project is to protect the reliability of these supplies for decades to come. Additionally, public water agencies must maintain affordable water rates for the economically disadvantaged families in their extensive service areas.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) studied the potential impacts of the Delta Conveyance Project on traffic, noise, air quality, and historical, cultural, recreational, and other resources. As part of this analysis, DWR engaged with Tribal members and historically burdened, underrepresented, low income and otherwise vulnerable populations (also referred to as “disadvantaged communities”) as part of the project’s environmental analysis to determine baseline conditions and potential project-related impacts on and benefits for the Delta’s diverse communities.
DWR will continue this engagement with disadvantaged communities in all phases of the project—from planning through the project’s design and construction, as well as post-construction period.
DWR undertook the Your Delta, Your Voice survey to gather input from disadvantaged community members who live or work in the Delta. The survey was available online from September 30 through December 11, 2020. DWR arranged for Ag Innovations to lead survey development and outreach. They were supported by numerous partners and agency staff.
The objective of the survey was to inform DWR through gaining a better understanding of the priorities, values, and needs of Delta’s diverse communities. It also aimed to gather perspectives and information about how community members value, experience, and depend on the region’s cultural, recreational, natural, agricultural, and economic resources in order to identify how the project may impact those resources or potentially bring benefits to Delta communities.
The input collected through the survey will help shape the planning of the Delta Conveyance Project, including the preparation of the Environmental Impact Report under the California Environmental Quality Act. It will also inform DWR’s Community Benefits Program for the Delta Conveyance Project.
- Environmental Justice Community Survey Report (May 2021)
- Overview Presentation on the Environmental Justice Community Survey Report (May 2021)
- Electronic Notification - May 28, 2021: Your Delta, Your Voice Environmental Justice Community Survey Report Now Available
- To request a copy of the data collected for the Environmental Justice Community Survey, please email deltaconveyance@water.ca.gov. Results will be provided in the Microsoft Excel and ArcGIS applications. Please note downloaded copies of the spreadsheets are uncontrolled versions of the survey results and DWR does not take responsibility for modifications made to these versions.
Archived Materials:
- Electronic Notification - September 30, 2020: “Your Delta, Your Voice” Community Survey Launched - Take the Survey Today!
- Survey Flyer (English, Spanish and Chinese)
- Video: How to Take DWR’s Delta Conveyance Project Community Survey
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Vídeo: Cómo Completar la Encuesta Comunitaria sobre el Proyecto de Agua a través del Delta
