[GPSCC-chat] Water, water nowhere.

[Joel Masser]

I believe Director Kennedy is in favor of the Delta Tunnel project. Director Schmidt says he hasn’t decided yet.

From: Wes Rolley 
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2014 2:20 PM
To: Post South SF Bay discuss 
Subject: [GPSCC-chat] Water, water nowhere.

One of the more important local elections this fall will be fore Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.  This is all the more critical as we are in the 3rd year of what appears to be an extended drought... maybe even the establishment of a new normal climate for our area.   

The following Director terms end in December, 2014:

  a.. District 1. Dennis Kennedy 
  b.. District 4. Linda J. Lazotte 
  c.. District 6. Tony Estremera 
  d.. District 7. Brian A Schmidt 
If you don't know what district you are in, check the maps on this page:  http://www.valleywater.org/About/Board_of_Directors/District_Boundaries.aspx

I live in District 1, the most rural of all the districts and know Kennedy since he was Mayor of Morgan Hill.    I will publicly  endorse him this time, in particular after reading these  commenst about his role as an elected official:  

>From one email: 
  We, as water wholesalers, are limited by the enforcement measures available. We must rely on the retailers; cities and water companies to enforce our goals. 
  I am angered by the careless disregard of some water waisters and will do my best to get them to stop.

and from another: 
  One of the toughest challenges for elected officials is changing the mind set of some bureaucrats who have been “hunkered down” for a while.

I have seen this tendency to "hunker down" before.  I have also seen bureaucrats who will trust the consultants that they hired to justify a project before they listen to the public when it is critical of their efforts.  If for no other reason than this, I would not consider that a Director's experience working for the District to be a plus.  It is not necessarily a detriment but voters should consider whether the long time associations might be like blinder keep them from seeing the real problems. 

I don't know the other Directors all that well.  But if they are your director, you should.  You should also begin to pay attention to such issues as the planned water bond that will give the state NO NEW WATER.   

We also need to pay close attention to ground water use.  The State of CA has no system to inform planners as to how much ground water is being pumped nor how much is left.  As a result, we have some areas in the Central Valley  that are experiencing nearly a foot of subsidence per year.   Santa Clara County's experience with ground water pumping is very evident in Alviso.  This community was not always below sea level, even without the sea level rise we know is coming. 

Finally, we also need to be sure that the District Board is up front considering the impact of sustained drought on their financial status.  As Kennedy wrote, they are wholesalers.  That means they get revenue by selling water to retailers (cities, water companies).  When usage drops there is less revenue and so rates will necessarily have to rise just to cover the real expenses of supplying water.   Droughts of short duration can be handled by incurring more debt.  However, that can not be sustained.   District long term financial plans must be transparent. 

You know what to look for.  Challenge the candidates in your districts to do the right things. 


-- 
"Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" - Roberto Clemente


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