November 2, 2009

SBACC Supports Water Package

The South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce (SBACC) supports the proposed comprehensive legislative package which holds the promise of a restored Delta ecosystem and a reliable water supply for 25 million Californians, a multi-billion dollar economy and millions of acres of farmland. Maintaining the status quo is unsustainable and unacceptable, given the severe water crisis we currently face statewide.

Despite extensive investments in alternative water supplies, storage and conservation, the combination of drought and regulatory restrictions have nearly depleted Southern California’s water reserves. Without a comprehensive habitat plan for the Delta, statewide water management reforms and financing, we risk losing more than water resources -- our economic foundation at risk.

The Delta Legislative package offers three critical elements lacking in past Delta efforts: a Delta Plan, built upon the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), that outlines a path to achieve the co-equal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration; a Governance Structure, in the form of the Delta Stewardship Council, to ensure the plan is implemented and to provide accountability; and a Delta Conservancy that can manage the complex and comprehensive habitat restoration projects needed for species recovery. In addition, the legislation provides valuable tools to improve water use efficiency, groundwater reporting and water rights enforcement essential to managing our limited water supplies.

California’s water crisis threatens our jobs, our agriculture, our fisheries and our way of life. The solutions outlined in this legislative package are a critical step, but only the first step, in a long-term recovery effort. Delay is no longer an option. We are at a historic crossroads, with a clear path to achieve comprehensive reform.

November 1, 2009

SBACC Urges Legislative Leaders To Pass A Water Bond

The SBACC today urges legislative leaders to pass a comprehensive water bond as part of a historic package of reforms to address the crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and to improve statewide water management.

Fixing our State’s fragile water supply and infrastructure is a top priority for SBACC. We support efforts to promote regional and statewide water conservation efforts; develop additional water storage facilities; developing alternative arrangements to deliver water to Southern California should the Delta levees fail; finding solutions that include an isolated facility around the Delta; and other means of ensuring that California has adequate water supplies.

Water districts throughout Southern California and the state are prepared to make billions of dollars worth of investments in the Delta to improve its water system and assist in the recovery of the ecosystem. Yet their funds will not be sufficient to complete the task. Over $2 billion in proposed bond funds for Delta restoration will be necessary to meet the broader public goals of recovering the Delta ecosystem.

Putting the Delta on a path to recovery is only part of a comprehensive water financing package. Water districts are facing shortage conditions because of three consecutive dry years and unprecedented water supply restrictions in the Delta. Funding is needed for immediate measures for water districts to maintain supplies until a longer-term solution is completed in the Delta. At least $1 billion is necessary as matching funds to advance local efforts to clean up contaminated groundwater basins and related groundwater protection and water quality programs. Similar funding is necessary for water recycling. And to achieve the goal of reducing per-capita urban water use by 20 percent by the year 2020, matching funds for conservation programs will provide the incentive to accelerate water use efficiency initiatives. These are regional/local investments to ensure that our reliance on the Delta is consistent with the co-equal goals of restoring the ecosystem and providing reliable water supplies to 25 million state residents.

We need to balance the fiscal limits of our ratepayers and the financial needs of maintaining reliable water supplies, we recognize your financial challenge. Yet these investments are absolutely critical. Approving a comprehensive bond now will provide the necessary funding stream over a period of many years. Local and regional water efforts throughout California are ready to match the state investments in a sustainable water future. This legislative package can both address our water problems and create jobs at a time when California needs them most. It will not be complete without a comprehensive bond.
 

October 27, 2009