Tapping into a source of concern
Re “Channeling Mulholland,” editorial, Feb. 25
Admiring William Mulholland, a man who almost single-handedly decimated the economy of the Owens Valley and turned a once lush agricultural area into a desert to benefit corrupt landowners and politicians in L.A., is quite suspect in itself. But I find the fact that some people think that growth is L.A.’s “right” outrageous. Since when did it become a right? There are about 4 million people in the city of L.A. alone, and you want more? When will people realize that no region or city can grow forever?
Instead of figuring out how to accommodate growth, how about accommodating the people you have now? How about basing the economy on the industries and people you have in the city now instead of on future and perpetual growth? I was born and raised in the L.A. area; it doesn’t need any more people, especially with its water issues. Growth is not inevitable; it can and must be controlled.
Chris M. Forte
Bishop, Calif.
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It’s great to see The Times stepping up about an issue that needs to be addressed. But giving credit to a mayor who calls for voluntary reduction? How about taking the Los Angeles City Council to task for stopping the recycling of up to 75 million gallons of water a day from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant? At all times during the year, the L.A. River is running instead of being pumped up to the settling fields because someone called it “toilet to tap.”
Finally, I hope you examine the water structure and how it pertains to mega-agricultural interests in the central part of the state. Part of their profit comes from receiving subsidized water that they then resell to urban water districts at a profit. Guess who pays for the subsidies.
Michael Schweit
Northridge
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The Times’ editorial series on water in California is a welcome spotlight on the critical need for Southern California to adapt to an era of increasing water scarcity. The good news is that we can meet this challenge through actions that also will pay off in other tangible ways. We can clean up beaches by reusing runoff; beautify the region with green space that soaks up the rain; and even conserve energy by decreasing the rapacious electrical appetite of the pumps that import water to the region.
Benjamin Franklin said, “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” Let’s not make the mistake of waiting to find out.
David Beckman
Santa Monica
The writer is director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Coastal Water Quality Program.
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An editorial that covers an entire half-page about the need for water and water conservation in Southern California, and not one word about desalination. Unbelievable. One would think that Los Angeles is located in the middle of the Sahara or Gobi deserts.
Lewis Polin
Laguna Niguel