E-mail story

Print story

Subscribe to Print

Water bond faces criticism

By DANIEL CÁSAREZ / Vida En El Valle

VISALIA -- A $9.3 billion water bond endorsed by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has met waves of support and protests.

Feinstein and Schwarzenegger are calling on Democrats and Republicans to place the water bond on the November ballot. The proposal has stalled along with the budget in the California legislature.

Feinstein says the bond is needed to help with the increasing population of California and to curb the effects of global warming.

The bond would fund the creation of more dams and make improvements to California's water storage system, such as reservoirs, and provide for underground and above-ground holding areas.

It would earmark $3 billion for the water storage portion and set aside $1.9 billion that would go toward the repair of levees and restoration of the Sacramento-San Joaquín Delta's ecosystem.

"The farmworkers of this state are working very hard to feed this state, to feed this country and to feed the world and they are raising their families. But our water system has stopped working for you. It's out of date," Schwarzenegger said at an Aug. 13 press conference with the California Latino Water Coalition.

Feinstein said the last structural improvement to the state's water delivery was in the 1960s when there was a population of 16 million as opposed to the current 38 million.

Susana De Anda, a co-executive director at the Community Water Center in Visalia, wants Feinstein and Schwarzenegger to create a bond that provides for cleaner and healthier water.

De Anda joined a group of protesters, and some residents from Alpaugh, Sultana, Orosi, and other area communities at an Aug. 12 press conference in Visalia. The group wants Feinstein and Schwarzenegger to tackle the issue of contaminated water.

"Today, we do not want the governor to pass the bond because it does not address all of California's water problems," said De Anda.

Lindsay resident Irma Arrollo says she's been an activist calling for healthy water conditions for years.

"This is a bond that we'll have to pay for. We've had this crisis with the nitrate in our water for a while. And he (Schwarzenegger) hasn't even listened to us," Arrollo said. "He has to include the desire of the communities. And he needs to understand the real problems so that he can provide a bond that will benefit us."

The approximately 800 residents in Alpaugh have contended with high concentrations of arsenic. A new delivery system was installed in January 2006 but cautious residents continue to purchase bottled water.

In 2004, testing in one of Alpaugh's wells resulted in a reading of 29 parts per billion of arsenic. The federal standard was less than 50 parts per billion. However, the federal government changed the level to 10 parts per billion in 2006.

Jessica Sánchez, a 15-year-old sophomore at Orosi High School, was applauded for her challenge to Schwarzenegger.

"What's the point of having a bond if it doesn't help clean this contaminated water? I think he should come down and drink one glass of water," said Sánchez.

Sánchez said her mother works in the fields, and that the farmworkers need to continue to work, but buying bottled is too much of a hardship for a single mother.

"We don't just need the water so that there's work for us, the campesinos (farmworkers), but good water to promote good health," said Arrollo.

According to De Anda, contaminated water exists throughout the state. She wants a balanced solution that benefits farmworkers' needs and residents who deal with water quality issues.

De Anda is gathering signatures on a petition that will be delivered to the offices of Feinstein and Schwarzenegger.

"We need to address the problem, but this is forgotten in the water bill. In the Salinas-Monterey County area, there's a lot of nitrates there as well, Lamont in Kern County has arsenic in their drinking water, so this issue is widespread," said De Anda.

Send e-mail to: dcasarez@vidaenelvalle.com