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An irrigation canal pumping water. (Photo: Straight 8 Photography/Shutterstock)

California’s Anti-Racist Water Plan

Fighting systemic injustice, one drip at a time

By Thomas Buckley, January 16, 2023 2:37 am

As of this coming Wednesday, water will no longer be racist because that’s when the California State Water Resources Control Board will discuss its 2023-2025 Racial Equity Action Plan.

On the 18th, the Board will discuss – but will not vote to disapprove nor approve as the Action Plan is a “living document” and they passed a resolution calling for it to be created in November of 2021, it seems – the plan as presented.

The epitome of bureaucratic diversity-speak, the plan lays out a number of tasks for itself, its nine regional sub-boards, and the water industry in general in order to best eliminate systemic racism in water delivery and to address the numerous putative past problems.

To wit, this grounding construct for the plan:  “Racial equity is a Water Boards’ priority. We are working toward a future where race no longer predicts a person’s access to water or the quality of water resources they receive, where race does not predict professional outcomes for our employees, and where we consistently consider racial equity impacts before we make decisions.”

As noted, the plan grew from a previous Board resolution – passed unanimously – entitled:  

CONDEMNING RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, BIGOTRY, AND RACIAL INJUSTICE AND STRENGTHENING COMMITMENT TO RACIAL EQUITY, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, ACCESS, AND ANTI-RACISM

The resolution continued, stating that  “White supremacy is a systemically and institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of nations and people of color by white people for the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege…” that “In California, race predicts a person’s access to governmental services and the quality and affordability of the services they receive. This includes the availability of safe drinking water and the collection, treatment, and reuse of wastewater. In fact, race is the strongest predictor of water and sanitation access…” and the need “…to address the disproportionate effects of extreme hydrologic conditions and sea-level rise on Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities…”

For context, it should be noted – regarding the issue of sea-level rise – that Malibu is 92% white.

The plan itself calls for specific race-based project design, informational efforts, and data collection by “Applying a “racial equity lens” (that) means the Water Boards will consider a set of questions throughout its decision-making processes. The racial equity lens questions interrupt the impact of unintended consequences by taking into consideration the lived experiences and perspectives of the racially diverse communities the Water Boards intend to serve.”

Included in the plan are such new processes as “incorporate(ing) racial equity analysis when developing maximum contaminant“ standards (a stricture that could be interpreted in two very different ways,) increasing the hiring of BIPOC staffers, making those who do the hiring take “implicit bias and racial equity training,” and “(A)ctivating BIPOC community wisdom and sharing power” by using “culturally sensitive and gender inclusive” plain language and images.

Throughout, the plan emphasizes outreach to BIPOC and tribal communities in rather standard government speak.  What is, however, unusual is that it recommends actually paying “community partners for the time and expertise.”  

In other words, the State Water Board will soon be giving money to activists to tell them to make water even less racist.

The plan was developed in close collaboration with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE,) an organization “that is a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all.”

GARE is a joint project of UC-Berkeley’s Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI), and Race Forward.

The OBI has 40 employees, including a “belonging coordinator,”  and is apparently dedicated to a wide range of social efforts, from race to gender to advancing “targeted universalism” (don’t know what that is? see here and be extremely afraid.)

Regarding climate change, for example, the OBI states that “Consistent with a fossil fuel economy and worldview built on othering, it is no accident that those whose material conditions are most profoundly impacted by the (climate) crisis are those who are least responsible for creating it: migrant workers; Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, mostly female low wage care providers, agricultural workers, and so on.”

As for Race Forward, it believes in “operationalizing” equity (not equality because that’s not equal enough it seems…I think) by “building shared relationships within and across the breadth (all functions) and depth (up and down hierarchy) of organizations and sectors to shift power to advance transformative and equitable systems’ change.”

It should be noted that – like with so many of the intertwined widgets of the “social economy” – that only 2 of Race Forward’s 11 board members actually have for-profit private sector jobs (the rest work for foundations and NGO’s and other activist groups), and that one of those private-sector epople is the editor of The Nation magazine, which is only notionally private and hasn’t turned a profit in decades.

That being said, who knew that 60 % of a human body was racist?  Now that’s truly systemic.

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Coastal Hearing Room in the CalEPA building in Sacramento.  You can participate remotely if (there are rules, passwords, etc. ) you check out this website first – https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_info/remote_meeting/  .  As for merely watching you can do that here – https://www.youtube.com/user/BoardWebSupport  .

Here is the plan:

racial-equity-action-plan-final-en
   

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18 thoughts on “California’s Anti-Racist Water Plan

  1. How’s this for a footnote,
    Water Has No Color and Is Important to All.

    I am curious how many taxpayer dollars went into this program that could have been utilized for water storage projects.

  2. Wow, the bureaucrats at the California State Water Resources Control Board and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) came up with a Racial Equity Action Plan that discriminates and attacks Caucasians on the basis of their race? Their plan also recommends only paying BIPOC and tribal activists for their time and expertise using taxpayer funds? Everyone opposed to the weaponizing of water on the basis of race and ethnicity by the State Water Resources Control Board should attend the Board’s zoom meeting on January 18th @ 9:30 am. This racist equity plan needs to be stopped immediately and challenged in the courts.

  3. The headline of this article should instead be “California’s Racist Water Plan” because that’s what it is. This is the weaponization of water by race and no doubt the deep-state WEF globalist cabal behind this racial equity water plan also want to weaponize every other aspect of life? They are desperate for a race war in order to destroy the U.S. and usher in their one world government.

  4. Water comes from Snow. Snow is white which makes water racist. Boycott and outlaw water! Then there is the problem of black top roads. That has to be racist. Then there is dirt, dirt is brown and we walk on it and call it “dirty”. Come on wokesters! You have a lot more work to do!

  5. This “equity” plan is not equitable and it’s appallingly racist. You can let the Board know how you feel about it by contacting: Jeanine Townsend, Clerk to the Board, P.O. Box 100, Sacramento, CA 95812-0100. Phone: 916/341-5600. Fax: 916/341-5620. Email: commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov. Indicate the subject line: “Comment Letter – and the “2023-2025 Racial Equity Action Plan”

  6. Mr. Buckley noted that while the plan emphasizes outreach to BIPOC and tribal communities, it also recommends actually paying “community partners for the time and expertise” or in other words the State Water Resources Control Board will soon be giving money to activists. This sounds like a scheme to fund race-based groups usually connected with the Democrat party that are often radically violent such as BLM? It’s totally unacceptable for the State Water Resources Control Board to be involved in financing activist political groups!

    1. Anybody see a pattern developing here?

      Democrats set up a money-laundering scheme to bypass campaign restrictions and laws, including “First Partner” (eyeroll) non-profits that launder money for philandering greaseball husband’s political ambitions???

      Now the water board is setting up a web of deception to funnel money to their anarchist partners, much like those that were woven into the January 6 crowds, and were filmed breaking windows with skateboards, wearing skater helmets….

      This keeps up, it ain’t gonna end well, once people wake up to the BS that the Democrat machine is (and has been) putting into place….

      #GadsdenFlag

  7. First of all, if anyone has benefited from mythical “white supremacy” it would be rich and privileged Democrats like Gavin Newsom and Nancy Pelosi. Many whites in California are struggling to survive in the Biden economy just like other groups. They’re still waiting for the white privilege. Secondly, whites are a minority is California where Hispanics make up the majority of the population. The State Water Resources Control Board’s Racial Equity Action Plan is absurd and needs to be scrapped.

  8. The grift is strong in California. Any way to funnel taxpayer money back to the Democrat political machine will be pursued full steam ahead. Meanwhile, the state will continue to loose population as the people who actually live get fed up with the incompetence of the people in charge.

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