I would like to send a big “thank you very much” to all the Delta smelt lovers who are responsible for what looks to be an eminent rise in my water rates. When the state recently received a court order to change its pumping operations in the Delta to protect the endangered fish, state officials estimated that the order would result in reducing Delta water deliveries to the equivalent of 2 million homes. For homes in the East Bay served by the Zone 7 water agency, that meant that 80% of our usual water supply that comes from the Delta would be diminished tremendously, and that we would have to import water.
Residents and businesses responded to the crisis with excellent water conservation behavior…and now we’re going to pay for it.
Zone 7 is now looking at a 6% decline in their water demand for 2008, and instead of shaving off bureaucracy no longer needed to serve the needs of a population that did exactly what we were asked to do by conserving water, they are looking at raising our rates so their general fund can continue to hire the same number of people they needed for a greater water demand. The combination of saving fish and conserving our water usage is going to cost East Bay residents dearly. Would it have been better if we had continued to use water with reckless abandon?
Wake up, Southern California! A huge percentage of your water comes from the Delta, as well. What is happening in the East Bay is the canary in the coal mine for you. When watering your lawn with Dasani becomes more cost effective than using your sprinkler system, don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s time for us to actively engage in public policy surrounding our state’s water supply at the grassroots level. Don’t leave this up to the minority party warriors who are trying their best in Sacramento…please get involved!
September 26th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Jill:
Thank you from San Diego for the Heads-Up on this topic.
The entire field of Water policy in California is an endless
sequel to the Jack Nicholson film classic, “Chinatown”.
Where is the man or woman who will clean out those
Augean Stables?
September 26th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Hey, Jim!
In thinking a bit more on this topic, I realized that you don’t even have to be a political junkie to appreciate water issues…all you have to do is watch this week’s episode of “Prison Break” to get a glimpse of what happens to leaders when the water runs out.
I remember when I was stationed in San Diego, and there were drought conditions in ’92 or ’93, I think. There was a whole new business that sprang up all over town: spray painting lawns! I remember seeing guys with big sprayers strapped to their backs, turning dead grass into the owner’s choice of keely, emerald, or olive drab green! what’s that old saying…history repeats itself?