News of the Arroyo


Title:

Our View: Water package has many pluses

Subtitle:

Date:

2009-11-15

Summary:

November 15, 2009 - The historic water package recently passed in Sacramento "could be the foundation for a progressive plan for the state and for our local water supplies."

Author:

Editorial

Publication:

San Gabriel Valley Newspapers

Content:

Mark Twain once said, \"whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over.\"

Indeed, this has been true, from Mulholland diverting flows from the Owens Valley to L.A. to local water wars involving the vast underground San Gabriel Basin.

But the new bipartisan agreement hammered out in Sacramento earlier this month, the one that culminates in an $11.1 billion water bond measure on next November\'s ballot, was built around multiple stakeholders coming together; it makes Twain\'s Wild West water free-for-all seem very out-of-date.

Though not perfect, the water package could become Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger\'s biggest achievement if he can convince voters of its importance. Many lawmakers, including Rep Mike Eng, D-El Monte and Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, view this as perhaps the most important legislation they ever voted on, or ever will.

We see a lot of good things in this package, and undoubtedly, some pork and missed opportunities as well. First the good stuff.

Eng and Hernandez included language that is unique to the polluted San Gabriel Basin that would send $100 million (out of $1 billion statewide for groundwater clean-up) for further removal of volatile organic compounds that can cause cancer and perchlorate, which the EPA says can inhibit the thyroid gland\'s iodine uptake and can cause fetal birth defects, from pockets of the aquifer. These monies alone make a strong case for voter approval.

This is significant

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because it greatly increases the state\'s share of the cost of clean-up, underway since the late 1980s and funded from polluter settlements and federal government grants. With a significant state contribution such as this, it may be possible to set a timetable for the completion of the Valley\'s ground water cleanup. A totally pollution-free aquifer could then be used to store imported water for drier times, possibly even as a money-maker for the region.
In addition, $50 million (out of $1 billion for statewide water recycling projects) would come to local agencies to redouble efforts to treat waste water and use it for ground-water replenishment. The latter is something that the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District and the Central Basin Water District are already doing but something that is costly and needs a funding boost in order to spread.

Out of the $1.7 billion for watershed conservation, the San Gabriel River watershed could get some. And the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy is earmarked for $75 million. These monies would speed up parks and greenbelts around the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo rivers, as well as the Arroyo Seco.

The bulk of the bond money - $2.25 billion for Delta sustainability - would go toward long-overdue infrastructure improvements to the levees of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Provisions in the bill call for a 20 percent reduction in urban water use by 2020. This is a noble goal and certainly, we can see ways cities can use less water, from stopping Caltrans and other institutions from overwatering freeway turf, to installing low-flow toilets or even no-flow urinals in buildings. However, the measure unfortunately does not call for any reductions in agricultural water usage. That\'s a missed opportunity since agriculture uses 80 percent of the state\'s water supply.

Then there\'s the interest payments on the bonds. The measure will cost the state between $725 million and $809 million a year, according to state Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar. \"That\'s the question,\" said Huff, who told a conservative political audience that despite the cost, he\'s supporting the measure. \"The real question is can we afford not to have water?\" Huff said, concluding it was necessary to ensure a reliable water supply to Southern California.

There will be more written on this topic and more details to come. But this package is indeed historic and could be the foundation for a progressive plan for the state and for our local water supplies.

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