Transcript California`s Just and Resilient Water Future

California’s Just and
Resilient Water Future
Presented by Debbie Davis
Policy Director
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
May 26, 2010
About
The Environmental Justice
Coalition for Water
Statewide coalition of more than seventy
community-based and non-profit organizations
Fighting for water justice in California
Safe drinking water, waterways that support
subsistence fishing, tribal cultural uses, recreational
access
Water Bond 2010
An Expensive Recipe for Disaster
Expensive
• $22 billion price tag – Largest Water Bond Ever
• $800 million annual debt service
19th Century
Plan
• $3 billion continuously appropriate for storage ($200 mil)
• Limits Spending to $5.57 billion through 2015
Ignores Core
Needs
• Less than 1% guaranteed to most vulnerable communities
• Under invests in climate-resilient water strategies
California Cannot Afford to add $22 Billion in
Dept to the Balance Sheet
•Facing a $19 billion shortfall this year
•Bond Freeze has meant that dollars already
authorized have not gone out
•Still more than $7 billion in authorized water bond
dollars that have not been spent
“…further increasing the General Fund’s debt burden, especially in the
next three difficult budgets, would require cutting even deeper into
crucial services already reeling from billions of dollars in reductions. “
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, 2009 Debt Affordability Report
19th Century Practices Lack Climate
Resilience - Agriculture
80% of California’s
Developed Water
Global Water – Food
– Climate Crisis
Requires a Shift
from Industrial
Agriculture to
Sustainable
Agriculture
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
19th Century Practices and
Old Infrastructure –
Domestic Use
Transporting, Heating, and Treating Water
Uses 30% of California’s Gas and
Electricity
60% of water delivered for domestic use is
used on outdoor irrigation.
Old Infrastructure leaks and forces flushing
of the system wasting treated water.
Ignores Core Needs - Less Than 1% Guaranteed to Go to the
Most Vulnerable Communities
More than 1.5 million
Californians are without safe
drinking water in the Central
Valley Alone.
Millions are on failing septic
systems.
Tens of millions rely on old and
decrepit water and wastewater
infrastructure.
A Few Facts About
California Water and Climate
Climate Is
Changing
Successful
Navigation of
Energy-Water
Nexus is Critical
to Addressing
Climate Change
Uncertainty is the
Only Rule
We can’t stop climate change, but we can choose to
accept climate change as an opportunity.
Good News: We Can Chart a Climate Resilient,
Just Water Future
Sustainability
Equity
Climate
Resilience
Environmental
Justice
Fiscal
Responsibility
Regional
Equity
A Truth About
California Water
“…we have enough to
live on, but not enough
to waste.”
Dorothy Green, October 8, 2008
www.ejcw.org