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State Water Resources Control Board chair defends board after administrative‑hearing "Zoom bombing," outlines water-quality, funding and cross‑border work
Summary
Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, described the board’s water‑quality, drinking‑water and financing responsibilities and recounted a coordinated “Zoom bombing” that disrupted a Delta Conveyance water‑rights hearing.
Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, told the Senate Budget Subcommittee that the board oversees water quality and water-rights administration across California, manages drinking-water regulation for community systems and provides financial assistance through the state revolving funds.
The board’s mission and recent work: Esquivel summarized the board’s responsibilities under Porter‑Cologne and its role overseeing nine regional boards, noting the board’s transfer of the Division of Drinking Water from the Department of Public Health a decade ago and the board’s investments to address drinking-water access. He said the state has reduced the number of Californians lacking access to safe drinking water from approximately 1.6 million in 2019 to about 1.5 million today through combined state and federal funding.
Administrative-hearing disruption: Esquivel described a coordinated…
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