Bay Area Council Supports Governor and Senator’s Compromise Water Plan

Today the Bay Area Council put out the following statement attributable to Jim Wunderman, President & CEO of the Bay Area Council, in support of Governor Schwarzenegger’s and Senator Feinstein’s bond plan for California water:

“It’s not surprising how white-hot the emotions can get, how dirty the politics played, or how high the stakes are over water battles; for at their core these are fights about survival. There is no life without water.

“Given those stakes, the Bay Area Council would like to profoundly thank Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein for finding a compromise that can lead California out of its water wars. Over the past three years, the Bay Area Council has pulled together Northern California business and environmental groups, and water agencies to work with the Southern California counterparts on Delta issues.

“Our group has been pushing forcefully for transparent, data-driven decision-making as the best way forward for politically poisonous issues such as water storage facilities and conveyance methods. We think that if decisions are made only by flexing political muscle, the result is a war of attrition that ends with paralysis, which is the worst result of all.

“The Delta faces a triple threat from either a rise in sea-level, a catastrophic flood or an earthquake. All three threats could breach the 1,345-mile levee system, sucking a big saltwater “gulp” from San Francisco Bay over the region’s low-lying islands, farms and residents. For at least a year or two, only salt water could flow into the California Aqueduct, which 23 million Californian’s use, and to be stark – yet accurate – essentially ending civilization as we know it in California.

“While the Bay Area Council, and its Water Committee and allies, would like more time to review the details of the proposal, it appears Senator Feinstein and Governor Schwarzenegger have offered a deliberate and thoughtful compromise that water stakeholders across the state can campaign for together. We offer our thanks.”

About the Bay Area Council

Founded in 1945, the Bay Area Council (www.bayareacouncil.org) develops and drives regional public policy initiatives and researches critical infrastructure issues. Led by CEOs, the Bay Area Council presents a strong, united voice for hundreds of major employers throughout the Bay Area region whom employ more than 501,000 workers, or 1 of every six private sector employees in the Bay Area.