Newsom Signs Executive Order Halting Water Shutoffs during Covid-19 Crisis

Governor Gavin Newsom (file photo)

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide moratorium on water shutoffs for nonpayment in the midst of the deepening coronavirus public health crisis.

This executive order follows a March 16 order that asks the California Public Utilities Commission to monitor measures taken by utility providers “to implement customer service protections for critical utilities,” including water.

“Water is critical to our very lives, and in this time, it is critically important that it is available for everyone,” Newsom said in the press release.

The order directs utility companies to restore water to residents that had water shut off since March 4.

“This executive order will help people who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring they have water service,” Newsom said in a written statement after hinting at the action during an event broadcast online.

The moratorium comes on the heels of a letter by Food & Water Action on behalf of its 172,000 California members, urging swift action to ensure that every state resident has access to clean, affordable water service for the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re very pleased that Governor Newsom has made the common-sense decision to halt water shutoffs in the state while we confront this overwhelming public health crisis. He must also ensure that water is restored to every home where it was previously cut off. When the first instruction to every Californian is ‘wash your hands often,’ it’s crazy to think that many residents of the state don’t have that option in their own homes. Access to clean, safe water is a right that every Californian should have, in times of heath crises and in normal times as well.”

“Thanks also to all of the grassroots organizations throughout the state that have been pressing the governor on this issue for many weeks.”

Food & Water Action is running a nationally-used aggregate of local action on water service across the country since the spread of COVID-19 here.