AgdaPkt 2007-10-22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7A Page 10 'Gov. Schwarzenegger' Continued from Page 1... The original version of the Governor's letter is located at WVJVi!JlQ.Y.o.03.govinews":'!:'Q..Ql!l, under "press releases." Below is an edited version (indented and balded): October 10, 2007 Dear Speaker Nunez, Senator Perata, Mr. Villines and Senator Ackerman, As a water crisis slowly grips California cities and towns, we find ourselves embroiled in the most important debate on this issue since the State Water Project was built more than half a century ago. The question is not just which immediate steps should be taken to protect our great state, but how California's water infrastructure will serve future generations for many decades to come. The most controversial element of the debate is the proposal to expand California's reservoir system. Opponents of building new reservoirs have used three major arguments to make their case: first, that California has plenty of reservoir capacity. Second, that we can solve California's growing water crisis with conservation and recycling. Third, that reservoirs should be paid for only by local water agencies, not the statewide public. It is a fact that California's existing reservoirs are dangerously low this year. The capacity to store additional flood waters will provide us with tremendous flexibility and bring greater reliability to our state's water supply. From October 2005 to September 2006, two reservoirs, Shasta and Folsom, released more than 6.5 million acre.feet of water to the ocean because they did not have room to store flood flows from the Sacramento River. Flood waters stretched our aging levee system to the breaking point. Last year alone, 1.25 million acre- feet of water had to be released from Millerton Lake reservoir off the San Joaquin River because there was no room to store flood flows when the Sierra snowmelt collided with winter storms. Towns along the river, like tiny Firebaugh, were threatened with devastation. In 2006, the State's major reservoirs released millions of acre-feet of flood waters, well beyond that needed for the environment or other beneficial purposes. and . more than enough to fill the proposed new reservoirs at Sites and Temperance Flat, and an expanded Los Vaqueros. This water, had some of it been captured, could have been used to maintain water quality in the Delta, protect threatened fish populations and complete water deliveries to cities and farms when the Delta pumps were shut down to protect endangered fish. Instead, due to drought conditions this year, the State's major reservoirs have 2.5 million acre.feet less in storage than normal for this time of year. Combine this low storage with drought conditions and reduced pumping from the Delta, and what you have are cities throughout California facing water rationing. Had my comprehensive water plan been in place, we would have started the 2007 water year with an additional 3.3 million acre.feet of water in storage, allowing us to deliver more water and better protect the ecosystem. Conservation is key, but cannot solve California's growing water crisis alone. Conservation cannot capture the Sierra snowmelt when it floods the Sacramento or San Joaquin River. There are no conservation measures that would have helped us benefit from the flood flows in 2005-06; that was simply a matter of limited space in our existing reservoirs. However, conservation certainly must be a critical component of California's water future. The City of Los Angeles has grown by more than 1 million residents since 1975 and, with aggressive conservation efforts such as low-flow toilets and 2