Cadiz Inc. is pleased to announce that its corporate website is now bilingual, with content available in both English and Spanish. In addition to the Company’s existing website address www.cadizinc.com, the Company has added www.cadizinc-es.com and www.missionaguacadiz.com to help browsers locate Spanish-language content.
“Cadiz is on a mission to deliver clean water to communities across California,” said Carolyn Webb de Macias, Chair of Cadiz’s Equity, Sustainability and Environmental Justice board Committee. “The launch of a bilingual website is part of the Company’s commitment to ensure our projects, and information about our projects, are accessible to the Spanish-speaking population in California and across the country.” When visiting Cadiz’s website, visitors can now browse content in either English or Spanish with a click of the language button at the top corner of every subpage.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the United States is home to the second-largest number of Spanish speakers in the world. There are over 41 million people aged five or older in the U.S. who speak Spanish at home, and Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken across the country. Additionally, there are approximately 10.6 million Spanish speakers in California, representing over 26% of the State’s population and the highest percent of Spanish speakers of any state in the U.S.
An investigation last year published by the Guardian found drinking water for the Latino population across the country disproportionately fails to meet federal standards. While millions of people across the country, particularly those in rural areas with high rates of poverty, are regularly exposed to water that is unsafe, U.S. counties that are over 25% Latino are experiencing violations at twice the rate of counties with a lower Latino population.
In a 2021 report to the California Legislature, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office advised that recurrent drought conditions, such as the three-year drought now plaguing the State, exacerbate drinking water challenges experienced by small, rural disadvantaged communities, particularly farmworker communities that contain high proportions of both lower‑income and Latino residents.
Cadiz Board member Maria Echaveste commented: “Providing access to clean water to all communities means we also need to provide all communities better access to information about the issues that affect them. I am proud of our efforts to ensure communications from Cadiz provide accessible information in the communities most affected by water insecurity.