• Package proposed by Governor, Feinstein critical to addressing crisis
SACRAMENTO, CA, July 28, 2008 -- The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) has taken a formal position in support of a proposed water bond package for the November 2008 ballot. The $9.3 billion package, proposed July 10 by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, would provide funding for local resource development, Delta sustainability and infrastructure improvements to address the state's deepening water crisis.
ACWA's Board of Directors voted Friday to support the package, calling it the right mix of long-term investments in backbone water infrastructure as well as water use efficiency, recycling and other local strategies to improve water supply reliability.
"The need for a comprehensive water package has never been more urgent," ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn said. "We are facing some of the most severe water challenges of our time, and we need solutions today."
While a water bond package is critical to achieving long-term solutions, Quinn said the Legislature also must move to immediately appropriate funding for critical projects already authorized under Proposition 84, Proposition 50 and Proposition 1E. The funding should be disbursed to local water agencies swiftly to allow conservation, recycling and other projects to proceed as soon as possible.
ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 450 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California.
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