[env-trinity] San Jose Mercury Editorial, DELTA TUNNEL PROJECT DESERVES A PUBLIC VOTE

Mon Mar 28 17:05:46 PDT 2016

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| Gov. Jerry Brown's so-called California WaterFix is anything but. It's a Southern California water grab, designed to send more water from Northern California to thirsty Central Valley farmers and Los Angeles urban dwellers at the expense of the Delta's fragile health.    The project is estimated to cost Santa Clara Valley Water District ratepayers between $470 million to $1.2 billion, but Valley ratepayers should realize these projects typically go beyond even the high-end estimate. Boston's Big Dig was sold as costing around $2.4 billion but wound up well over $14 billion.    The tunnels will only make it possible for Southern California to gulp more water from the Delta. There are better ways to solve California's water woes, including conservation, recycling and raising the height of some dams, to name a few.    The Santa Clara Valley Water District's financial participation is considered crucial, both politically and economically. It is the only Northern California water supplier still considering participating in the project. If it drops out, ratepayers from the remaining Southern California water districts would have to pick up the costs -- and it would be clear to all that more water is expected down there.  |     |     |

Opinion
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Mercury News editorial: Delta tunnel project deserves public vote
 Mercury News Editorial Posted:   03/28/2016 03:11:27 PM PDT | Updated:   about 3 hours ago It's great that five of the seven Santa Clara Valley Water District Board members now say they want to give voters a say in whether Silicon Valley's largest water district will help pay for Gov. Jerry Brown's $17 billion Delta tunnels plan. The other two -- Linda LeZotte and Nai Hsueh -- have yet to weigh in. They should make it unanimous by joining Tony Estremera, Barbara Keegan, Gary Kremen, Dick Santos and John Varela in calling for a public vote, even if it needs to be a non-binding advisory measure.    Gov. Jerry Brown's so-called California WaterFix is anything but. It's a Southern California water grab, designed to send more water from Northern California to thirsty Central Valley farmers and Los Angeles urban dwellers at the expense of the Delta's fragile health.    The project is estimated to cost Santa Clara Valley Water District ratepayers between $470 million to $1.2 billion, but Valley ratepayers should realize these projects typically go beyond even the high-end estimate. Boston's Big Dig was sold as costing around $2.4 billion but wound up well over $14 billion.    The tunnels will only make it possible for Southern California to gulp more water from the Delta. There are better ways to solve California's water woes, including conservation, recycling and raising the height of some dams, to name a few.    The Santa Clara Valley Water District's financial participation is considered crucial, both politically and economically. It is the only Northern California water supplier still considering participating in the project. If it drops out, ratepayers from the remaining Southern California water districts would have to pick up the costs -- and it would be clear to all that more water is expected down there.    The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association may be another roadblock. It threatens to sue if water districts try to impose tax increases for the tunnels without voter approval. State officials maintain that they can do this because the Delta tunnels are part of the State Water Project, which was approved by voters before Proposition 13 went into effect.    It's yet another reason for the Santa Clara Valley district to pull out soon and avoid dealing with a poorly designed plan.  |

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