On Tuesday, December 8th, The board of the regional water wholesaler, Metropolitan Water District (MWD), is voting on whether to commit ratepayers to decades of higher water bills without new water by investing tens of millions of dollars in planning for the destructive Delta tunnel project.
On October 13, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti sent a letter to the MWD Chair Gloria Gray stating that the next general manager (GM) of MWD should “depart from the status quo” and favor local water projects.
He also acknowledged that “[t]he Delta and Colorado River ecosystems are increasingly stressed by drought and unpredictable rainfall patterns.” And that, in light of this, “MWD should consider delaying investments in the Delta until the IRP is complete, a new GM is on board and economic recovery is underway.”
The Delta tunnel should not be included in Mayor Garcetti’s vision for LA water policy.
Supporting the tunnel is not a departure from the status quo as some variation of the project has been around for nearly 90 years.
Moreover, the tunnel is not a local solution and will suck up money and other resources that could be spent investing in and constructing local solutions that will make Los Angeles more water resilient in the years to come.
And lastly, the IRP--a plan for how MWD will supply water for the next 20 years--will not be complete until April and the new general manager will not start until at least March. A decision for LA to participate in the tunnel funding before then is irresponsible.
The Los Angeles delegation is the largest voting bloc on the MWD board and can determine the outcome of the vote. They must vote for NO TUNNEL.
Email Mayor Garcetti now and tell him to remove his support for the Delta tunnel.
Want to do more? Click here to email the MWD board and call them to give a public comment on December 8 and tell them to vote NO on the tunnel. Join our Facebook group, Stop the Delta Tunnel, to stay up-to-date on the progress against the tunnel.
