I live in the Upper District service area and I’m asking you to oppose signing the Letter of Intent with the Cadiz Inc. Their harmful scheme involves removing water from the already moisture-challenged Mojave Desert under Joshua Tree National Park and other public lands and pumping it to the San Gabriel Valley. Don’t sign up for the contaminated Cadiz water that puts kids and families at risk. Don’t give Cadiz a blank check to raise our water rates. Don’t support a project that will remove the underground water that feeds surface springs essential for the survival of desert life.
The Metropolitan Water District has found that Cadiz project water is contaminated with chromium (Cr6), a known carcinogen, along with arsenic and other substances unsafe for human consumption. Removing all of these contaminants from Cadiz water – if it can be done – will be expensive. Even without contaminant removal Cadiz water would cost more than current suppliers. Who will end up footing the bill? Upper District rate payers like me. Singing the Letter of Intent is like giving a blank check for Cadiz. Please don’t do it.
We need a sustainable water future. California is already doing a great job conserving water, an inexpensive way to meet our water needs that doesn’t risk the public health. Enhanced conservation, rain water capture and reclamation efforts could generate good paying jobs right here locally. These options are recognized in the Upper District staff analysis.
There are moral and environmental reasons not to sign the Letter of Intent. Much of the water Cadiz would remove is located under cherished public lands like Joshua Tree National Park, the Mojave Trails National Monument, and the Mojave Preserve. No private corporation has the right to damage the public’s land for its own profit. I urge you reject the harmful Cadiz water grab and leave desert water in the desert to support its already water-challenged natural life -- from big horn sheep to the desert tortoise and our magnificent Joshua Trees. Note that these public lands are enjoyed by many thousands of San Gabriel Valley residents annually.
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