Posted by Dave Hurley
on 10/29/2008, 8:01 pm
76.20.97.22
Stop the Water Grab - A Call to Action
Friends,
This is it -- we're in the final 24 hours of a multi-year campaign to stop the SFPUC water grab that could seriously harm the health of the Tuolumne River. A decision is likely tomorrow (October 30th). The time to act is now!
Send a letter to the SFPUC: http://www.tuolumne.org/content/staticpages/index.php/letter_commissioners
Can you come to SF City Hall to support the Tuolumne?
This Thursday, October 30, there will be two important public hearings at which the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will likely decide whether to go with a plan that diverts more water from an already threatened river, or whether to turn to water conservation and recycling instead. October 30 will be the moment of truth. We're asking Tuolumne supporters to come out in droves -- if there were ever a time to speak out on behalf of this source of Bay Area drinking water, this is it! The times and locations are below. Please let us know if you are planning to attend by emailing Jessie Raeder at jessie@tuolumne.org or calling 415-882-7252 ext. 301. (If you can only make one hearing, the 5:00pm SFPUC meeting is the more critical.)
Planning Commission Hearing
SF City Hall, Room 400
Thursday, October 30 at 1:30pm
Special Meeting of the SFPUC
SF City Hall, Room 263
Thursday, October 30 at 5:00pm
We've come a long way. A few short months ago, the SFPUC (San Francisco Public Utilities Commission) was considering a controversial plan to take an additional 25 million gallons of water per day out of the Tuolumne River. Most of this increase would have been for outdoor use. While that option is still on the table, SFPUC staff are now recommending a compromise -- a variant that would leave most of that water in the River and turn to water conservation and recycling instead, at least until 2018.
Make no mistake -- this has the potential to be a huge victory. But we still have concerns. We want to make sure there are strong assurances that the SFPUC and it's customers won't go over their cap, and we're concerned that the plan would still allow for an additional 2 million gallons per day to be diverted. 59% of flows are already diverted in an average year (up to 90% in some years) -- meanwhile, we've seen our native salmon and steelhead populations crash. So right now, please email the SFPUC Commissioners and urge them to choose a plan that keeps every drop of remaining water in the River: http://www.tuolumne.org/content/staticpages/index.php/letter_commissioners. Then forward this alert to your friends, and think about coming to City Hall on Thursday.
Many thanks.
-Peter
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Peter Drekmeier
Bay Area Program Director
Tuolumne River Trust
111 New Montgomery, #205
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 882-7252 x 302
peter@tuolumne.org
http://www.tuolumne.org/bayarea
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