Your Water Your Vote

Sign our letter urging candidates to take clean water seriously.

LETTER SIGN ON GOES HERE

With the 2026 gubernatorial election on the horizon, Californians have the opportunity to forefront the conversation about water. Elections are one of those rare moments when a new vision for large, entrenched systems can be put forward.   When voters can ask not only what is broken, but what kind of future we want to build. Few issues touch every Californian as directly as water, and few offer as much potential for a shared conversation about values, fairness, and durable solutions.  

An Open Letter to California’s Gubernatorial Candidates

From Californians Who Depend on Clean, Affordable, and Healthy Waters

Dear Gubernatorial Candidates, 

As residents, workers, business owners, farmers, anglers, Tribal members, and community leaders of California, we depend on clean and affordable water for healthy ecosystems and people. Clean water is not a partisan issue. It is a public health necessity, an economic foundation, vital for all life, and a shared value across regions, communities, and political affiliations.

California has long recognized the importance of clean, affordable, and healthy waters and led accordingly. For decades, our state was at the forefront of environmental and water protection nationwide. The federal Clean Water Act itself was substantially modeled on California’s landmark Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act of 1969. California did not follow federal leadership on clean water — we helped define it.

That legacy matters now more than ever.

As the effects of climate change intensify droughts, floods, wildfires, toxic runoff, harmful algal blooms, and ocean acidification, Californians are asking whether our state will step up and lead on clean water protection or allow decades of progress to erode through neglect, political pressure, and federal attacks on our bedrock environmental protections. We believe the answer must include strong and decisive leadership.

This open letter is a call for California’s gubernatorial candidates to publicly affirm their commitment to clean water. We urge you to lead on the following four pillars of clean water protection:

Preserve Freshwater
Safeguard California’s rivers, watersheds, and groundwater by enforcing clean water laws and ensuring rivers have enough clean water to support ecosystems, communities, and downstream waters.

Protect Coastal Ecosystems and Waters
Protect California’s marine waters by preventing pollution at its source and adopting strong water quality standards that keep coastal waters safe for public health, fisheries, and marine life.

Prioritize Balanced Water Allocation
Ensure California lives within its water limits by prioritizing local, affordable, and climate-resilient water solutions that protect flow in rivers, include groundwater management, and emphasize water affordability.

Strengthen Water Quality Governance
Build strong, independent, and transparent water governance that updates water quality standards based on science, represents impacted communities and Tribes, and holds polluters accountable.

The next Governor will define California’s water future. By signing this letter, Californians are calling on gubernatorial candidates to affirm these commitments publicly and to govern in alignment with them.

California’s water future will shape our public health, our economy, our ecosystems, and our resilience for generations to come. We urge you to stand with Californians, honor California’s legacy of leadership, and commit to a clean water future worthy of this state.

Respectfully,

California Residents for Clean, Affordable, and Healthy Waters
(Names and cities)

Cc: California editorial boards