You are now in California and the U.S. Media Coverage category.

Americans in vulnerable communities across the country are at risk of or already experiencing a water crisis marked by limited access to safe drinking water and clean lakes and streams. Pollution, aging infrastructure and underinvestment have left many communities vulnerable to long-term illness and a diminished quality of life.

Approximately 2.2 million Americans live in homes without running water or basic plumbing, according to DigDeep, a human rights non-profit organization. Black and Latino households are twice as likely to live without basic plumbing as White households.

A Northern California city just launched operations on a technology that could change the future of drought resilience in the region and bring clean drinking water to millions.

The city of Antioch, located in the Bay Area, has launched a $116 million desalination plant that will convert brackish water from the San Joaquin River into fresh, drinkable water, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. Once operational, the facility will produce up to 6 million gallons of clean water per day, enough to cover about 40% of the city’s drinking supply.

The Delta Conveyance Project continues to make progress with two key milestones to push the project forward — a certification of consistency submitted to the Delta Stewardship Council and a state appellate court decision allowing pre-construction geotechnical work to continue.

Governor Gavin Newsom has announced two recent key victories to advance the Delta Conveyance Project — a critical infrastructure project to safeguard California’s water supplies amid a hotter, drier future.

As the pumps whir around us, Denis Bilodeau motions to the liquid in the vats below. It looks like iced tea, but in fact it’s secondary treated sewage, cleaned of any solids by the plant next door. In less than an hour, and after three steps of processing, we will be drinking it – as pure water.

The Groundwater Replenishment System facility in Orange County, California, houses the pipes, filters and pumps to move up to 130m gallons each day – enough for 1 million people – processing it from dark to clear. The facility, which opened in 2008, is part of broader moves to help conserve water.

California’s mountain snowpack has long acted as a free, natural water reservoir. Each winter, snow builds up in the Sierra Nevada and melts slowly in spring, helping fill rivers, support wildlife, and supply communities across the state.

But researchers are seeing troubling changes. New findings suggest this vital water source is becoming less reliable, a warning sign in a warming world, the Public Policy Institute of California reported.