As a resident of the San Jose area for over 9 years in the 1970s and 1980s, I frequently fished in the lakes of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, including Anderson, Coyote, Uvas, Calero and Lexington reservoirs and the Campbell Percolation Ponds. Since moving back to Sacramento, I have fished at and written stories on these lakes many times.
I find it appalling that the same water district is now the ONLY member agency that voted to provide the Department of Water Resources with additional funding for the Planning Phase of Delta Tunnels. Why the heck is a northern California water district providing funds for the Delta Tunnels, a project that will benefit Big Ag interests including Stewart and Lynda Resnick of Paramount Farms?
Do you want to stop Governor Jerry Brown’s environmentally destructive and enormously expensive Delta Tunnels project? Well, here’s an opportunity for Santa Clara Valley Water District ratepayers to take action against the California WaterFix, courtesy of Restore the Delta (RTD):
Santa Clara Valley Water: Stop Bankrolling Tunnels for Big Ag!
According to the latest meeting materials from the San Luis Delta-Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA), it appears that Santa Clara Valley Water District was the only SLDMWA member agency that voted to provide the Department of Water Resources with additional funding for the Planning Phase of Califorina WaterFix.
This is after Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Members have stated at public meetings that they were not going forward with CA WaterFix planning until a finance plan was made available for the project and after further public discussion.
Please contact your Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Member and let them know of your opposition to funding for more planning of CA WaterFix (the Delta tunnels).
Let them know of your disappointment in backroom deals and resolutions that contradict stated Board policy to the public. If you know someone who lives in the area, pleaseforward this e-mail or use the social share links above to let them know.
SLDMWA had $4.26M of existing debt financing that had not been used, yet, all the other member Agencies apparently would not agree to use their share of that money for continued planning costs, which means urban ratepayers are paying for the Delta tunnels planning costs for Big Ag water districts.
See page 13 of the PDF.
There it states: “WHEREAS, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is the only member agencies that elected to apply its interests in the Remaining Note Proceeds to ongoing DHCCP Planning Costs, and therefore the Water Authority must define the terms by which it would provide such funding to DWR.”
Please let your Board member know that you object to Santa Clara Valley Water District ratepayers paying for Delta tunnels planning costs for big agricultural water districts like Westlands Water District — which has a history of literally getting other government agencies to pay their way.
If you live in or near the following cities, you may be a ratepayer: Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose (especially in Alviso), Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale
Find your Board member at this link by entering your address.
Send your comments to:
John L. Varela – District 1 and 2017 Chair: jvarela@valleywater.org
Barbara Keegan, Director – District 2: bkeegan@valleywater.org
Richard P. Santos, Director – District 3 and 2017 Vice Chair: board@valleywater.org,rsantos@valleywater.org
Linda J. LeZotte, Director – District 4: LLeZotte@valleywater.org
Nai Hsueh, Director – District 5: nhsueh@valleywater.org
Tony Estremera, Director – District 6: testremera@valleywater.org
Gary Kremen, Director – District 7: gkremen@valleywater.org
Have a Twitter account? Click to tweet a message to SCVWD.
No Twitter account? In addition to sending an e-mail, you can post a comment on their Facebook page. Make sure to be courteous, thank you!
Thank you,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Executive Director
Restore the Delta