AgdaPkt 2012-04-23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.1. E. - Page 1 RE PO RT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the Cit Mana er April 23, 2012 SUBJECT Authorization for Mayor Aguirre to Sign Statement Supporting Protection of the Hetch Hetchy Water System RECOMMENDATION Authorize Mayor Aguirre to Sign Statement Supporting Protection of the Hetch Hetchy Water System. BACKGROUND The Hetch Hetchy water system provides nearly 100% of Redwood City's drinking water, sourced from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The Hetch Hetchy system is a key element of the state's overburdened water supply infrastructure, and also produces 1.6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity for use in both urban and agricultural areas. A group called "Restore Hetch Hetchy" has filed a ballot initiative in San Francisco to pursue its goal to drain the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and restore the area to a natural condition. That group is in the process of collecting signatures toward having the ordinance placed before San Francisco voters this November. The Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored, public policy advocacy organization, has requested that Mayor Aguirre sign a public response form in support of a coalition in opposition to the initiative. This coalition has the endorsements of the Mayors of San Francisco, San Bruno, Palo Alto, Foster City, and San Jose, as well as those of Senator Dianne Feinstein, State Senator Mark Leno, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, and Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo, and Jackie Speier, among others. ANALYSIS The Restore Hetch Hetchy proposal presents a threat to Redwood City's water supply, and to the water supply for the rest of the 2.5 million households and tens of thousands of businesses in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties which get their water from this system. Currently there is no viable alternative for provision of this level of water service to these communities. Further, the Restore Hetch Hetchy effort would force the spending of over $10 billion to study the issue, demolish the O'Shaughnessy Dam which forms the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, and create a plan for restoration. Given California's ongoing budget crisis and its negative impacts on local government, public education, and community services, consideration of this level of expenditure is unwise.