Drinking water in many parts of California is at risk from the water supply crisis that has gripped the state in recent months, according to a study by the California Department of Public Health and Environment.
The state has seen a staggering number of water-related illnesses, including at least two deaths, due to water-borne illnesses such as salmonella, E. coli and bacteria.
But water-fearing Californians are not getting the help they need to prevent a growing number of illnesses and even deaths, according a report published on Monday by the University of California, Berkeley.
A water shortage in California has been blamed on climate change, which has caused the water to become increasingly cloudy and drier.
But the state has also seen a rise in salmonellosis, a bacteria that causes diarrhoea, as well as a rise of E.coli and E. Coli-resistant Enterococcus, or E.C.E.E., a new strain of E coli that can cause deadly diarrhea, according the report.
“We’ve had a water shortage, but we’ve also had a salmoneille syndrome outbreak and we’ve had an increase in E.
Coli and other illnesses,” said study author Michael R. Smith, a professor of microbiology and immunology at UC Berkeley and an expert on water contamination.
“These things are all caused by climate change and it’s affecting our water supply.”
Smith and other experts also noted that the water shortages have been exacerbated by a recent state law, signed by Gov.
Jerry Brown, which allowed private businesses to tap into public water to reduce the amount of pollution they generate.
That law was passed to help pay for a new public water supply system and it was not clear when it would be fully implemented.
Smith said the California Water Supply Coalition is calling on Brown to reverse the law.
“It’s a massive, massive public health issue that we’re facing,” Smith said.
“We are calling on Governor Brown to immediately reverse this law, which will not only save Californians money but will also reduce the number of E.-coli infections and deaths in the state.”
The report released Monday focused on water treatment facilities, including public water treatment plants, and found that salmonele cases in public water facilities jumped nearly 60 percent from 2014 to 2015, with the highest increase occurring in San Diego.
There were a total of 8,942 salmoneles reported in the county in 2015.
“California has one of the highest rates of salmoneosis in the country,” said the report’s lead author, Dr. James E. Krieger, a senior lecturer in epidemiology at the University at Albany.
“California is also a high-risk state for E. C.E.’s.”
Salmonella bacteria are the most common cause of food poisoning in the United States, with about 10,000 cases reported each year, according