The Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (SCEHSC) awarded the Water Insecurity Correction Coalition (WICC) $10,000 through their Community Action Fund this week. The grant enables WICC’s youth-led team and their partners to deliver community-oriented water security programming in Santa Ana, California.
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are “forever chemicals” that pose serious environmental harm and health risks to the communities of which they infiltrate water supplies. For nearly a decade, suspicion in Santa Ana has loomed over potential water contamination by forever chemicals, but there is still a need for community organizing or education initiatives
The Santa Ana Clean Water Initiative (SACWI) will increase community awareness, education, and engagement regarding PFAS risks, testing, and mitigation strategies. With the support of SCEHSC, SACWI will host its family fun-filled and educational Block Party on June 22nd in Delhi Park. In addition, the grant enables expansive community water testing efforts in Santa Ana to be conducted by SACWI partners.
"WICC has been aware of the drinking water problems in California for some time now. Our work in the region thus far has been largely remote, so this is an exciting opportunity to build a connection with a Southern California community and several local organizations,” said WICC Executive Director Arianna Trapp. SACWI is a collaborative project between WICC, the Orange County Environmental Justice Educational Fund (OCEJ), and the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences of Keck School of Medicine and the Viterbi School of Engineering of USC. “It is really exciting to be combining forces and working from the community level up to address the long-term systemic issues that have been associated with PFAS contamination. Through combining forces with a focus on community needs, we are able to impact hundreds of people's lives through these types of events,” said Director of Project Development, Nico Gentile.
USC is a critical partner involved in SACWI. “Our team at USC has been working on addressing PFAS contamination in Southern California and are enthusiastic to support efforts by WICC and OCEJ for community engagement and exposure assessment in Santa Ana,” said Max Aung, Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental Health at the University of Southern California. “Expanding data on PFAS drinking water measurements can help inform solutions for pursuing clean drinking water in affected communities.”
OCEJ is a grassroots 501c3 in Orange County working to advance environmental justice and mobilize communities. “Our partnerships with UCI, USC, and WICC have made it possible to strengthen our capacity and resources; making water testing accessible to more residents and deconstructing complex academia information around water contamination into an easy to digest manner to advocate for long lasting environmental justice solutions that benefit our community members,” said Keila Villegas, Water Justice Director at OCEJ.
The SACWI Block Party will be in Santa Ana’s Delhi Park on Saturday, June 22nd from 11 AM to 3 PM. Santa Ana families are encouraged to come enjoy local food, games, bounce houses, and important resources on water safety and testing resources. Admission is free. More details can be found at yeswicc.com/sacwi.