25 signatures reached
To: Governor Newsom
An Alternative to the Delta Tunnels
"While working for the SP Railroad in Benicia, California I encountered a clapper rail, a marsh bird native to the Suisun Marsh. It fascinated me and I began reading everything about the Suisun Marsh and discovered that it is the largest freshwater marsh in the United States! I learned that the marsh is a stopover for hundreds of thousands to migratory birds and home to hundreds of resident fowl. It would be a catastrophe to lose this marsh as a result of saltwater intrusion caused by diverting water to Southern California via the proposed tunnels. I recognize that we have a problem of lack of water for Central Valley farmers and communities. But, I feel we're trying to solve a Twenty First Century problem with a Nineteenth Century solution. The proposed tunnels are estimated to cost 16 billion dollars when completed and there is little doubt it will have devastating consequences for fish and wildlife in the delta including the marsh. Contra Costa Water District would have to build a desalination plant for it’s customers because of saltwater intrusion. And this doesn’t even account for rising sea level.
For the price of the tunnels California could build 160 desalination plants costing $100,000,000.00 each producing 100,000,000 gallons of water per day on the largest reservoir in the world, the Pacific Ocean! With alternative energy like wind, solar or wave the water could be pumped over the coastal range and into the Central Valley to farms and communities while restoring a falling water table which is causing the valley to sink with subsequent earthquakes. Communities on the coast could also benefit from a steady water supply. These plants would create thousands of jobs with a resultant increase in tax revenue for counties and the state. California would prosper and governments would have the funds to benefit the people. This is not something out of the future, there are many countries that are already using this technology to provide water to their infrastructure. We could even quit pumping water from the Colorado River. Dams could be removed restoring spawning grounds for our salmon populations. The benefits are far reaching."
Respectfully, Bob Paulson, Californian
For the price of the tunnels California could build 160 desalination plants costing $100,000,000.00 each producing 100,000,000 gallons of water per day on the largest reservoir in the world, the Pacific Ocean! With alternative energy like wind, solar or wave the water could be pumped over the coastal range and into the Central Valley to farms and communities while restoring a falling water table which is causing the valley to sink with subsequent earthquakes. Communities on the coast could also benefit from a steady water supply. These plants would create thousands of jobs with a resultant increase in tax revenue for counties and the state. California would prosper and governments would have the funds to benefit the people. This is not something out of the future, there are many countries that are already using this technology to provide water to their infrastructure. We could even quit pumping water from the Colorado River. Dams could be removed restoring spawning grounds for our salmon populations. The benefits are far reaching."
Respectfully, Bob Paulson, Californian
Why is this important?
The Delta Tunnels will divert water to Southern California degrading the Suisun Marsh and the Delta resulting in saltwater intrusion and the destruction of natural habitat, not to mention the water supply to Contra Costa County drinking water.