"As droughts, extreme heat, and other climate disasters increasingly plague California, people throughout the state have been subject to water restrictions. For many Californians, this means emergency regulations like limitations on lawn watering. But one group of people has been forced to bear the brunt of the state's water restrictions: those in prison. People in California prisons already face an acute vulnerability to extreme heat and cold, wildfires, droughts, and flooding."
"While steps have been taken in recent years to protect the safety of incarcerated people in California during climate hazards, the lack of state funding, data, and preparation - paired with overincarceration - continue to pose a fatal threat to their health and livelihoods. And despite this increased vulnerability, incarcerated Californians have been forced for years to heavily limit their water use, including through restricted shower access, limited toilet flushing,"
California prisons face mounting climate hazards including drought, extreme heat, wildfires, and flooding, creating acute vulnerabilities for incarcerated people. Water restrictions have forced years of limited shower access, reduced toilet flushing, and other extreme conservation measures within prisons. Chronic overcrowding amplifies these risks, with historic overcrowding at facilities like San Quentin and a 2006 statewide prison population peak near 174,000. Limited state funding, insufficient data, and weak emergency preparation compound the dangers. Federal receivership and ongoing systemic strains reflect longstanding healthcare and safety failures. These combined factors pose fatal threats to the health and livelihoods of incarcerated Californians.
Read at Truthout
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