Stormcrow
11-05-2014, 10:17 AM
I hesitate to post in the General Discussion category anymore because of the sheer number of dumb**** Trolls. But, can someone educate me on what the passage of Prop 1 means for places like Castaic, DVL and other low waters? Are there provisions in the Prop to fill them up from some other source? Anybody have any info? I just don't feel like combing through research to find out the nuances of the Prop.
DEVOREFLYER
11-05-2014, 11:02 AM
Here is the bill. However by the time locations are selected, plans drawn, bids let for construction, Environmental Impact studies performed, tree huggers suing in court it won’t make a damn difference if we don’t get major storms with heavy snow pack this winter. Another dry winter and it is game over!!!!!
The measure will enact the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014. Proposal 1 will:
• Authorize $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds for state water supply infrastructure projects, such as public water system improvements, surface and groundwater storage, drinking water protection, water recycling and advanced water treatment technology, water supply management and conveyance, waste water treatment, drought relief, emergency water supplies, and ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration.
• Appropriate money from the General Fund to pay off bonds.
• Require certain projects to provide matching funds from non-state sources in order to receive bond funds.
Specific spending proposals in the proposition include:
• $520 million to improve water quality for “beneficial use,” for reducing and preventing drinking water contaminants, disadvantaged communities, and the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Small Community Grant Fund.
• $1.495 billion for competitive grants for multibenefit ecosystem and watershed protection and restoration projects.
• $810 million for expenditures on, and competitive grants and loans to, integrated regional water management plan projects.
• $2.7 billion for water storage projects, dams and reservoirs.
• $725 million for water recycling and advanced water treatment technology projects.
• $900 million for competitive grants and loans for projects to prevent or clean up the contamination of groundwater that serves as a source of drinking water.
• $395 million for statewide flood management projects and activities.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) offered support for Proposition 1, despite some environmental groups opposing the measure. The following is an excerpt from a post on why the group supports the proposition:
“ NRDC fought hard to ensure that legislators crafted a bond that’s good for California’s environment and economy. And while it’s not perfect, it has broad bipartisan support and is backed by conservation groups, local water districts, business and labor leaders, editorial boards all around the state… because we all know that this bond does as much as it can for as many people and groups as possible, while ensuring that our tax dollars go as far as possible to address California’s water needs.
So here’s why we support Proposition 1:
1. Prop 1 will strengthen California’s water system by investing in much-needed local water supply projects like water recycling, groundwater cleanup, storm water capture, water conservation, and other regional water supply projects around the state. The vast majority of these funds will go to local water districts (Prop 1 generally requires a local match for projects). Using a transparent and competitive grant process will help ensure we get the most bang for the buck and create significant new, sustainable water supplies for communities around the state...
2. Prop 1 will help provide safe drinking water for all Californians, with an emphasis on disadvantaged communities. It’s estimated that more than 1 million Californians (and possibly as many as 3 million!) cannot safely drink the water that comes out of their tap because of contamination from arsenic, nitrates from agricultural pollution, perchlorate from industrial pollution, and other toxics. Most of these households rely on groundwater in rural communities and are not connected to a water treatment plant or water district.
3. Prop 1 invests in environmental restoration projects around the state, including funding for the San Joaquin River, the Salton Sea, the L.A. River, and coastal habitat, as well as water supply to the state's wildlife refuges. Prop 1 would make significant investments to help restore the health of rivers, wildlife, the coast and watersheds across the state, in many cases working through local conservancies that have a strong track record of success. This helps sustain salmon and other native fisheries (and the thousands of jobs that depend on them), helps provide healthy rivers for the public to enjoy, and can help create new water supply (for instance, through mountain meadow restoration or through floodplain restoration that helps with storm water capture and groundwater recharge)...
4. Prop 1 does not advance the State’s $25 billion flawed Bay Delta Conservation Plan, the proposal to build two massive tunnels under the Delta and divert unsustainable amounts of water...
5. Prop 1 is not earmarked for new dams. Critics cite concerns about funding for surface and groundwater storage, but this simply isn’t the case...