In Galt and South Lake Tahoe, residents are drinking arsenic with their tap water. Traces of the naturally occurring toxic chemical have leached from old mines, rocks and orchards into groundwater, reaching levels that violate state and federal safety standards.

In dozens of tiny towns that dot the Central Valley, residents regularly sip dangerous levels of nitrates with their water. The chemical comes from fertilizers or fecal matter that washes into the soil from broken septic tanks, or from the tons of manure that flow from dairies. Drinking water in many of these areas is also contaminated with the cancer- causing DBCP. A pesticide that also causes sterility, DBCP was banned in 1977 but persists in groundwater.

When tests show their wells are contaminated, water agencies regularly warn their customers to drink bottled water instead. But that can be expensive, particularly for residents of tiny rural districts, many of whom are impoverished farmworkers. Once groundwater supplies are contaminated, small water districts rarely have the resources to put in new wells or provide the treatment necessary to bring their water up to safe standards. As The Bee's Susan Ferriss reported last week, the state has been less than diligent in helping districts address what is a serious health hazard in too many communities.

Frustrated activists in the Central Valley are pushing legislation that would declare clean drinking water a human right. Assembly Bill 1242 by Ira Ruskin, D-Los Altos, specifically establishes a human right to clean, affordable and accessible water. The bill, which has passed the Assembly and is pending in the Senate, seeks to clarify existing state law that has long given priority to domestic water users. Proponents hope it gives health officials greater incentive and authority to address the problem of contamination.

But the bill does not appropriate any money to make sure that people get the clean water they need, and that's the real barrier here. Though state voters have passed bond measures that provide $230 million for water cleanup, and the federal government provides tens of millions more, a 2007 study estimated that it will cost $39 billion and take 20 years to bring drinking water in California up to federal health standards.

But not every remedy needs new money. The state is not using all the resources now at its disposal to protect public health. A simple example contained in The Bee story is illustrative. Last year, the tiny Tulare community of Alpaugh was barred from obtaining a state grant to build an arsenic treatment system because of a temporary freeze placed on such grants. But when the freeze was lifted in April, no one from the state bothered to inform officials at Alpaugh.

More also needs to be done to address the source of pollution. Tulare is home to more dairies than any other county in the world, a major reason nitrate contamination of groundwater is so pervasive there. The state has the power to force dairies to control waste from their operations. The dangerously elevated levels of nitrate in groundwater suggest that's not being done.

Whether or not California declares that the delivery of clean water is a right rather than simply a public service, the state can and should be doing more to see that all its residents have access to the water they need to sustain their lives.