Water Policy in California

It is surprising that some people purportedly concerned with water policy, such as Dorothy Green, can attend as many board of directors and committee meetings at the Metropolitan Water District as she does and still get her facts wrong. The problem, of course, is that her opinions are based on these factual errors as demonstrated in her piece in The Times (Editorial Pages, April 21).

1--Metropolitan is embarking on a $300-million internal expansion program, $225 million less than Green reported.

2--This expansion will allow us to use water from the State Water Project to which we are entitled and which the state can deliver in most years. This is not new, “unauthorized” water, as Green reported.

3--Once more she throws in the canard about Southern California footing the bill for agricultural water in the San Joaquin Valley. Once again, we respond that the availability, in some years, of surplus water at reduced rates for agricultural use was the inducement needed to sell the agricultural community on joining the State Water Project. Because they did join, our cost per acre-foot is less than it would have been had we built the project alone.

4--Green advises that an MWD publication identifies eight new potential sources of Colorado River water to make up for the loss to Arizona, which begins later this year. There is no doubt that right now, and for the next few years due to two extraordinarily wet years on the Colorado, we have access to a lot of water--more than we need. But the temporary availability of a lot of water has little relationship to a permanent, dependable supply--and that must be our goal.

5--Green advises that we can store surplus water in the Chino groundwater basin, as reported by MWD. She leaves out the fact that without the $300-million expansion, which she opposes, we have no way of getting extra water to the groundwater basin in the first place.

6--She states, “There are many other sources of water that would cost less and could be added in small increments as need develops.” These kind of mythical non-facts may be popular in some quarters, but they have no place in a decision-making process that is going to impact the quality of life for 15.7 million people at the turn of the century.

7--She states that the “poisons” draining into Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge are “heading south,” implying a health risk to our consumers. That implication is totally wrong and could create unwarranted alarm. The water delivered by MWD is carefully monitored and meets or exceeds all health standards established by responsible state and federal agencies.

8--We are accused of giving “lip service” to the more efficient use of water. Our public information efforts to encourage conservation are models not only in the state, but elsewhere in the nation. And most of our programs Green refers to when discussing new sources of water are the result of significant activity on our part to use water more efficiently.

E. THORNTON IBBETSON

Chairman of the Board

Metropolitan Water District

of Southern California