Call In to Stop the Delta Tunnel

Three different key water districts are voting this upcoming week, on Tuesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 14, on whether to fund the next phase of planning of the destructive Delta Tunnel project.

The three boards - Dudley Ridge Water District, Palmdale Water District, and Alameda County Water District - will consider whether to spend $9.69 million cumulatively just to fund the next phase of tunnel planning. This investment will be a sunk cost unless they choose to spend another $649.23 million of ratepayer money two years from now. Instead, this money could be more effectively invested in practical, local, sustainable, and resilient solutions that would bring immediate benefits to the communities they serve.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) has yet to complete its vote on the proposal to spend this money. If MWD ultimately votes no, the boards would either waste millions of dollars on a failed project or be forced to incur significantly higher expenses, as MWD would pay for half of the project.

The Delta Tunnel will reduce water flows and devastate the already fragile San Francisco Bay Delta ecosystem. The tunnel will hurt salmon and other fish, bird and wildlife populations, and reduce the food source to whales and other marine mammals in the Pacific Ocean. It will devastate the Stockton area’s air quality and already depressed local economy. It will also hurt the cultural livelihood of Indigenous communities in Northern California.

This project has been rejected by Californians for 40 years now, and every time it comes before a vote by the people, it fails.

Call the following water boards next week and tell them to vote NO on funding the next phase of the tunnel.

Here are talking points to give you some ideas.

Water District	Date and Time	Service Area	Item and Agenda	Oral Comment Instructions	Written Comment Instructions
Dudley Water Ridge	Tuesday, November 12 at 12:00pm	Bakersfield and parts of Kern County	Item TBD Link to Agenda	No virtual comment - attend in-person at 5555 California Ave. Suite 209, Bakersfield CA 93309.	Send written comments to admin@westsidewa.org by Tuesday at
Palmdale	Tuesday, November 12 at 6:00pm	Palmdale	Item 7.1 Link to Agenda	No virtual comment - attend in-person at 2029 East Avenue Q Palmdale, CA 93350.	Send written comments to danielleh@palmdalewater.org by Tuesday at 12pm
Alameda	Thursday, November 14 at 6:00pm	Fremont, Union City, and Newark	Item 5.10 Link to Agenda	Click here for the zoom link and input passcode: 244332. Raise your hand during Item 5.10 to comment.	Send written comments to marian.hsu@acwd.com by Thursday at 12pm

Finally, join our Facebook group, Stop the Delta Tunnel, to stay up-to-date on the progress against the tunnel.

If you have questions, please contact Layne Fajeau, Water Organizer, at Layne.Fajeau@sierraclub.org

Thank you for supporting water sustainability in California!

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Which meeting do you plan to attend?

Dudley Ridge Water District (11/12 @ 12pm)

Palmdale Water District (11/12 @ 6pm)

Alameda County Water District (11/14 @ 6pm)

Your Message

Subject

Please Vote NO on Delta Tunnel Funding

Message

Dear Honorable Board of Directors I am writing to you today to urge the District not to allocate any additional funds to the proposed Delta Conveyance Project and vote no on all upcoming funding requests for the Delta Tunnel. The Delta Tunnel project is a proposal to construct a single underground tunnel to divert millions of acre-feet of freshwater that would otherwise flow naturally through the Bay-Delta, diverting up to 6,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) from the Sacramento River without preserving sufficient flows or water quality for salmon species, Delta smelt, and other imperiled species. For years, the Bay-Delta ecosystem has been severely depleted of its essential freshwater flows, causing the destruction of natural habitat for endemic species and worsening the livelihood of residents in Delta communities. This project will absolutely hasten the decline of the Delta. Ratepayers will face increased water bills and property taxes, with no assurance of a sustainable water supply if the District continues to spend millions of dollars - well over $200 million by the final construction vote - on this project! Remember that the Board is ultimately accountable to their ratepayers who do not want their bills to rise amid an era of constant inflation and an affordability crisis. The Delta tunnel project is an expensive and environmentally harmful project - failing to ensure new water resources in a time of climate change. The District must prioritize limited public funds for projects that will deliver tangible improvements in water security and the overall health of the Delta. I urge you to make a responsible and informed decision by rejecting this funding, and voting NO on sending any more ratepayer money to the Delta Conveyance Project. Sincerely,

By taking this action to protect the planet, you are affirming you want to receive regular Sierra Club communications and may vote on policy designated by the Sierra Club Board.