SACRAMENTO – In this week’s Democratic Radio Address, Assemblymember Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) discusses California’s drought crisis and the Assembly water bond, which will include funding storage projects that will help protect California in the event of a future drought. Assemblymember Rendon has put forth Assembly Bill 1331, the Clean and Safe Drinking Water Act of 2014, putting the Assembly’s water bond on the November 2014 ballot.
This week’s radio address is 2:27.
Transcript:
Announcer:
“This is the Democratic weekly address from the Assembly Democratic Caucus.”
Assemblymember Anthony Rendon:
“This is Assemblymember Anthony Rendon.
California’s water system serves over 30 million people and irrigates 6 million acres of farmland.
2013 became the driest year on record in California. Almost 99% of California is considered abnormally dry or worse…almost two-thirds of the state is in extreme drought. Our Sierra snow packs that deliver a third of our fresh water are only one-tenth to one-fifth of normal.
Even without a drought, experts believe that we will be short 2 trillion gallons of water per year by 2020.
Many parts of our water infrastructure are well beyond design life and need upgrading or replacement. Federal water quality standards are not being met on over half of California's 3 million acres of lakes, bays, wetlands and estuaries. 30,000 miles of the state’s shoreline, streams and rivers do not meet federal water quality goals.
Right now there are many places in California where residents rely on bottled water because their water is not safe to drink.
The water crisis also threatens California’s multi-billion dollar agricultural industry that relies on 80% of the state’s water supply.
The aquifers in the Central Valley that serve millions of acres of farms are dangerously close to collapsing as a result of overuse and contamination.
Our efforts to protect our water, our residents, and our economy must include passing a responsible water bond.
That is why the state Assembly has spent the last year developing a new water bond.
We’ve convened 8 public hearings throughout the state to hear from Californians about what they need in their communities.
From these hearings, we’ve written a water bond based on a clear set of principles and a framework to responsibly guide our spending priorities, increase accountability, and equally address the needs of communities across the state.
As a result, we have a cleaner and more affordable water bond that is finely tailored to meet the needs of every region in the state.
This bond includes funding for improving drinking water quality, protecting rivers and watersheds, improving the reliability of clean water delivery, protecting the state’s Delta water system, and funding storage projects that will protect us from future droughts.
Assembly Bill 1331 is awaiting action in the State Senate. California needs this critical and fair water bond before the voters in November.
I’m Assemblymember Anthony Rendon.
Thank you for listening.”
Website of Assemblymember Anthony Rendon: http://asmdc.org/members/a63/
CONTACT: Bill Wong (916) 319-2063