OverView

The Environmental Impact report states the "Regional" project will not help the endangered Carmel River steelhead by more than a few extra days of drought protection per year.

Timeline: The "Regional" project would take at least six (6) years to begin operations.

Cost vs Ownership: It would cost about half a Billion dollars, be paid for by Peninsula ratepayers, but owned by a government agency (Marina Coast Water District) that pays nothing to own it.

Marina Coast Water District did build a tiny (200 acre foot) Desal plant in 1999. It barely limped along and was never fully operational. It had equipment problems and is now in mothballs.

HOPE Opinion -

The Marina "Regional" project would be the biggest Desal plant in North America, would have the "most expensive desalinated water in the world," is intended to rip away our Right to Vote on Peninsula water projects and our right to vote for Water Candidates - and does almost nothing to help the steelhead fish in the Carmel River recover.

Can you imagine a worse idea than that? -- (or if you are a Developer -- a Better idea than that !)

On the other hand - the "Right-Sized" Desalination Solution at Sand City - created by the Water Management District can save us millions of dollars and get built in half the time - plus we keep control and ownership of it.

Peninsula Political Water Refresher

In 2003 every Peninsula Mayor rejected the "Right-Sized" Desal solution at Sand City which would have solved our water problem at the least cost and not had any extra water for full-throttle growth. If they had supported it - we would have been drinking water out of it in 2007.

Now in 2010 all the Mayors support the "Regional" Desal project because it has loads of water for full-throttle growth, and would sever our right to vote on water issues.

In 1995 HOPE leaders helped win the battle to get voters to stop the Giant pro-growth Dam in Carmel Valley. All developers, the Chambers of Commerce, and almost every local elected leader supported the Dam - as did every newspaper.

Voters rejected the Dam by a big margin (57%-43%). Just like in 1993 when Peninsula voters rejected a giant pro-growth Desal plant.

Furiously, ever since that 1995 loss Cal-AM and the developers have been trying to prevent us from voting on their projects. They don't want us voting because they want a huge project. They fight against solutions that will simply legalize our water. (We get to vote because state law requires all water projects inside our Water District to be approved by voters.)

Cal-Am even went to Sacramento twice to get a bill passed to close down our Water District (which would rip away our right to vote). The second time we stopped them by only a single vote.

Now they are desperately trying to do a project outside our District - so they picked Marina (Coast Water District) - which is just outside our Water District boundaries.

You'll have a hard time finding a better Three-Stooges imitation than the good old boys at Marina Coast. (You can watch their meetings on the web.) They spent a ton of money building a tiny Desal in 1999 but couldn't ever get it running right - so they abandoned it ! Its gathering weeds today.

Now Cal-Am wants the spectacularly incompetent Marina Stooges to run a Desal plant 60 times larger. (I'm really not making this up.)

(June 28 & 29) PUC holds "fake meetings" and gets blasted for cost and governance issues. Right-Sized Solution gets lots of applause, but no mention in media.

April 2008 The Peninsula Water Board votes to make the "Right-Sized" Desal their top priority of seven projects.

January 2008 The Peninsula Water Board votes to revive their "Right-Sized" Desal Solution at Sand City.

2002 The Peninsula Water Board votes to create a "Right-Sized" Desalination Solution at Sand City. (Lead by Henson, Markey, Erickson, and Lehman)

====================

There is a strong chance we would never get any water from the "Regional" project - yet have to pay a half Billion dollars for the project !!!

WHAT ???

It gets worse.

Imagine someone signs a contract to buy a house and makes you legally responsible to paying for it (over your protests) - and you don't even get to own the house. That's what we're facing.

We here on the Peninsula have absolutely no vote or any political influence on the PUC decision or the Purchase Agreement.

====================

"Drought Reserve" is a bait and Switch tactic by developers. We had a Monterey Peninsula "Drought Reserve" up until the 1990s, but Developers got ALL the "Drought Reserve" water given to them for more subdivisions and growth. You can be assured that any extra capacity put into a water supply will be used for development.

====================

Animal catastrophe - yes, human catastrophe - no.

During worst case Rationing we might have to cut back to 50 gallons a day per person. We've done that before.

River animals aren't so lucky. They can't cut back on their water use - because they don't waste it. When the Carmel River dries up - the already endangered Steelhead and California red-legged frog - simply die.

====================

What You Can Do –

Call your elected officials and respectfully ask them to "Publicly Support the 'Right-Sized' Desal Solution at Sand City - created by the Water Management District."

Especially call --

• Assemblyman Monning
• Your Water District Representatives
• All Local Elected Officials

==================

================

Sea life harm - The extra salty water from Desal plants sinks and could form salty ponds and lakes at the bottom of our bay and nearby ocean. Some ocean species are extremely sensitive to the salinity of the water they "breathe" and will die.

================

"Why do we always have time to do it over, but never have time to do it right?" - John Tolson

The PUC's Environmental Report is massively fatally legally defective. It arrogantly refuses to analyze the feasible "Right-Sized Solution" - and finds all other alternatives to its "Regional" project are not suitable.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the PUC will approve the "Regional Project" - probably in October, 2010.

Anyone could file a CEQA suit as soon as the Public Utilities Commission rubber stamps this outrageously expensive, anti-democracy "Regional" project. Litigation will take at least two years and cost the PUC hundreds of thousands of dollars when they lose.

To avoid a lawsuit all the PUC has to do is what many of us have been asking for years - Provide a proper analysis of the Water Management District's Sand City Desal Solution. That's reasonable.

_____________

Why No Water?: California state law prevents moving drinking water (not brackish water) from the Salinas Valley Basin to another watershed because it is in a severly overdrafted state similar to our Peninsula.

All the water for the "Regional" project is to be pumped from the Salinas Valley aquifer at Marina - that is a distinctly different watershed from the Monterey Peninsula.

So if a single Salinas Valley well owner (or the State Water Resources Board or a non-profit) sued - could they halt all water transport to the Monterey Peninsula?

=================

The Good --

The Bad --

The Desperate --

• People and groups and even elected officials who are unaware of "Right-Sized" solution to our water problem.

____________

For more information please call 831-624-6500.

Search HOPE,