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<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;text-transform:uppercase;
font-weight:bold'>Opinion<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>A
heartfelt plea for a sensible water policy<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Heal the Bay's
founder lays out her vision for a clean and sustainable state supply.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on"><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Los Angeles</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
font-weight:bold'> Times – 10/8/08<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Dorothy
Green <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><i><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-style:italic'>Dorothy
Green is founding president of Heal the Bay, the Los Angeles/San Gabriel River
Watershed Council and a founder of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>
Water Impact Network.<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:14.0pt;background:white'><font size=4
color="#545454" face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt;
color:#545454'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>To everything there is a season; but water is
eternal. Or it was, until we started disturbing its natural rhythms. We penned
it behind dams and diverted it to aqueducts, starving the life out of rivers
and creating an unsupportable addiction to using more water than we need to
live. <br>
<br>
Despite the looming crisis in water, we have enough to live on, but not enough
to waste. And waste it we have, with great enthusiasm for lush green lawns in a
desert and a penchant for backroom deals with agribusiness. These deals end up
as sweetheart ones for the moneyed corporate farmers, providing them with
essentially a bountiful private water supply, which they sell off at a profit,
while the rest of us are carefully metered and potentially rationed.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>I have spent more than 30 years fighting for
clean water and a sustainable supply for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>.
As this is being written, I am bedridden, under hospice care. I am making one
last plea for common-sense management of our water supply in a manner that
protects public health and the environment while sustaining business and
agriculture.<br>
<br>
How? The state Water Resources Control Board already has the authority -- legal
and regulatory -- to manage the state's water resources. But it hasn't been
doing so. For example, it has issued from five to seven times the amount of
water rights than there is available water. It is also responsible for water
rights and quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, yet 10 sewage
treatment plants in the delta area discharge treated wastewater that contains
large amounts of pollutants into the water supply. <br>
<br>
The board should be depoliticized and sufficiently funded so that it can do its
duty effectively. It should create a sustainable water plan that has teeth,
with bipartisan support from the governor and the Legislature. This is how to
make this happen:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>* Create an independent structure for water
rights: a water court comprising three appointed administrative law judges who
specialize in water rights to handle those disputes before the board. Their
decision-making must be consistent with applicable law, but there should be a
mandate that they allocate water according to the actual availability of supply
in the state. They also should review past water-rights decisions to bring them
in line with existing supplies.<br>
<br>
* The board should develop a sustainable water plan with accountability.
Enforcement mechanisms would include financial penalties and operating
restrictions for wayward agencies. There also should be an independent and
public biennial assessment of the plan's implementation. <br>
<br>
* The sustainable water plan should include an allocation of water rights based
on available supply; a ban on discharging wastewater into our drinking water
supplies unless it meets Title 22 public health standards for water recycling
(similar to drinking water standards); meter <i><span style='font-style:italic'>every</span></i>
water use, including agriculture, not just those of urban dwellers; mandate use
of recycled water throughout the state; mandate low-impact development for all
projects, including transportation, in order to capture storm water on-site to
replenish local groundwater aquifers; and fast-track a groundwater cleanup
program.<br>
<br>
* Develop a steady revenue stream to support the water-rights court and the
board. The funding must not be dependent on the general fund budget. There are
a number of fees that support the board, but they are not enough. Additional
funds should come from water supply agencies based on their water usage.<br>
<br>
* Do not approve a deal for a new water bond until these changes have been put
in place. Although past bonds have done some good, they haven't helped us face
the increasing water scarcity caused by climate change and increasing
population.<br>
<br>
The time for consensus and compromise has long passed. If there is one thing
I've learned in my lifetime of activism, change doesn't come easily, but
without it, the environment will continue to degrade along with our quality of
life. Don't allow our water future to be decided by special interests. Anne
Frank said, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world." I agree. Let's start now.</span></font><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, JCt</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 cell</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a> (secondary)</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a href="http://fotr.org">http://fotr.org</a>
</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"></a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
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12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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