“Water flows uphill toward money,” Marc Reisner, “Cadillac Desert,” 1986, ISBN 0140178244
Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk Silva (Fullerton) has finally scheduled the Water Town Hall announced way back in August in the wake of revelations that she had thrown her support behind plans for an environmentally destructive and unneeded desalination plant in Huntington Beach. But the promised Water Town Hall has nought to do with her trade union-backed position in favor of Poseidon Water’s disaster. Despite Ms. Quirk-Silva’s support, the desal project was dealt a blow by the Californian Coastal Commission earlier this month, whose members expressed concerns about the use of existing open-ocean water intake pipes to supply the plant with seawater.
2014 Water Bond: From an Orange County Lens is really about vetting a new Assembly backed statewide water bond initiative by running it past “stakeholders” first. Now entitled The Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2014, it is a reworked version of a bond proposal that has twice been pulled by the legislature since its introduction four years ago because it was considered to be too much of a risk to put before voters.
The legislature is preparing to place this $ 11.14 billion bond proposal on the ballot next year. It is supposed to fund repairs of California’s massive and aging water facilities and restore the compromised Sacramento Delta ecosystem.
Are you a stakeholder? Do you have a weekday morning off to attend a government workshop? This “Informational Water Town Hall,” to which we are all invited, takes place on Tuesday, December 3rd between 9:00 and 11:30 a.m., when most people will be working.
Here is the text of the official invitation I received via email:
My name is Tige Richardson and I am a field representative with Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva. I am reaching out to you today to invite you to an Informational Water Town Hall that will focus on ways in which stakeholders can work together to ensure that water bond measures support regional self-reliance and encourage the development of new technologies that facilitate water conservation and reuse, while also serving local and statewide needs.
Presentations will include information about potential water bond structures, mechanisms for funding local projects, and environmental protections. The event will be held on:
Tuesday, December 3rd
9:00AM – 11:30AM
Heritage Hall, Buena Park
8150 Knott Avenue, Buena Park, 90620
Come participate in a discussion with state and local elected leaders along with expert panelist about how we can best serve the needs Orange County’s cities. If you know individuals or organizations that would be interested in attending please have them RSVP to Tige Richardson at 714-526-7272.
fullertonrag.com 