MWD makes right choice backing Delta tunnels

GUEST Opinion /// California WaterFix


Local water agencies will greatly benefit from the two water tunnels approved last week by the board of Metropolitan Water District, which is paying for the bulk of the estimated $17-billion project known as California WaterFix.

We need the water reliability that comes with the two-tunnel system that proposes to divert water from the Sacramento River and send it underneath the sensitive Bay Area Delta southward to the homes and businesses in our communities.

Imported water from Northern California accounts for all of the drinking water distributed to the customers of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District and 75 percent of the potable supply for the people served by the Calleguas Municipal Water District.

Right now, this water supply is threatened with the possibility of an earthquake in the Sacramento area. An earthquake could cause sea water to flow into the Sacramento

San Joaquin River Delta and ultimately make our imported water undrinkable.

A pair of new 35-mile long tunnels that are proposed to be built under the delta as part of WaterFix will protect us from that danger.

Also, operators currently are forced to shut down the massive pumps in the southern part of the delta at times during the spring in order to protect endangered fish runs that are active following the winter rain and snow melt.

The two tunnels will allow us to continue pumping water throughout the spring.

The tunnels also promise to be a better solution than the current system (and the proposed onetunnel plan) due to the climatechange factor. UCLA science models show that Northern California precipitation in the future will come more from rain than from snow, and that means huge volumes of water flowing into the delta at a faster-than-normal rate. We need as large an intake capacity as possible, which we will get with the two-tunnel solution.

It is true that all of us in the area will have to pay for the tunnel project in the form of higher water bills, but the cost will still be less than if we had to pay for new drinking water supplies from ocean desalination.

To pay for the two-tunnel solution, our local monthly water bills could increase to a maximum of $4.80 over a period of 15 years. But the cost might be less as water agencies in the Central Valley that are required by law to cut back on groundwater pumping in future years find themselves having to purchase water from Metropolitan.

We are all able to enjoy life in the Conejo Valley because we have access to imported water from the north. The WaterFix plan will guarantee those supplies continue well into the future.

Thanks to the Met directors for voting yes to the two-tunnel WaterFix solution.

Orkney is an Oak Park resident and vice chair of the Triunfo Sanitation District Board of Directors.