Several hundred drinking water systems around California fail to deliver safe and affordable water, affecting nearly 750,000 residents, according to a new report from the State Water Resources Control Board.

The annual Drinking Water Needs Assessment analyzed 3,066 water systems that together serve roughly 15 million people and found that 346 failed to meet one or more criteria for delivering clean, accessible and affordable water in 2021.

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Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.