Board Votes to Support Water and Resources Bond Initiative
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Regional Water Authority (RWA) today endorsed a $5.4 billion bond measure on the November ballot that seeks to protect drinking water quality, improve water supply reliability and strengthen flood protection in California.
The RWA Board of Directors voted unanimously to support Proposition 84, the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006. The measure would fund needed improvements to the state’s water supply and flood control systems. It would also provide funding to protect California’s natural landscapes, including parks, forests, rivers and beaches.
“Proposition 84 would fund investments to ensure that Californians continue to have access to safe drinking water, affordable and reliable water supplies, and adequate levels of flood
protection,” RWA Chair Rob Roscoe said. “It would provide significant funding for the kind of regional water management programs we already are embracing in the Sacramento region,
and help other areas of the state advance their own regional efforts.”
Developed with input from the statewide water community, Proposition 84 qualified for the ballot through the initiative process. If approved by voters, it would provide $1 billion for
integrated regional management efforts such as those outlined in a plan adopted in May by RWA and the Freeport Regional Water Authority.
That plan, known as the American River Basin Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, is aimed at enhancing water supply reliability, improving water quality, increasing flood
control and helping to protect the American River and the lower Cosumnes River watersheds. It includes an array of projects to support a regional conjunctive use program and promote water recycling, water use efficiency and other strategies to improve local water supply reliability.
In addition to funding for integrated regional water efforts, Proposition 84 would provide $525 million for safe drinking water and water quality projects, $800 million for flood control
programs, and $65 million for statewide water planning.
According to the Department of Water Resources, programs funded by Proposition 84 would generate 1 million to 1.2 million acre-feet of new water for the state.
RWA is a joint powers authority representing 22 water providers in the greater Sacramento area. Its primary mission is to help its members protect and enhance the reliability, availability, affordability and quality of water resources.
