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Rural Poverty Water Project
Sandra Meraz
Linda MacKay
Ester Martinez
Braulio Martinez

CRPE CLIENT COMMUNITIES

Alpaugh, Tulare County

The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment is working with local residents in Alpaugh, who have formed the community group Committee for a Better Alpaugh (CBA). CBA has organized community trainings on a variety of issues, from understanding water quality to working with the media. With funding support from the Women’s Foundation of California, CRPE and CBA are also conducting a feasibility study to identify and purchase water purifying systems for all the homes in Alpaugh to remove the unhealthy amounts of arsenic found in the drinking water. CRPE Advisory Board chair Sandra Meraz spearheads local water work, and is a long-time community leader in Alpaugh. Advisory Board members Ester Martinez and Braulio Martinez also hails from Alpaugh.

CRPE’s involvement in Alpaugh dates back to 1990, when it represented the group Endangered Species in a successful campaign to block a toxic waste incinerator proposed for the town. CRPE Advisory Board member Linda MacKay was a key leader in that fight.