Marin Voice: Huffman opponent has water supply questions for congressman

Why should Californians have to pay $500 million for less water storage along the North Coast? I would like to ask Rep. Jared Huffman, Marin County’s elected official in Congress.

A group led by Huffman is promoting the destruction of our regional water infrastructure. The aim is to substantially reduce our regional water storage by removing Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury. The estimated cost is $500 million.

Huffman’s plan goes against the interests of the North Coast’s nearly 1 million residents, and runs counter to the Biden-Harris administration’s White House global action plan on water security. The report makes clear that the U.S. continues to suffer from inadequate water infrastructure.

“Here at home, water crises are becoming more frequent and intense,” the water security report reads. “Historic droughts threaten our supply of water, and failing infrastructure and chronic underinvestment deprive our most vulnerable communities of safe drinking water.

“As the source of both life and livelihoods, water security is central to human and national security.”

North Coast residents can relate.

The White House report adds that its 2021 $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill “will invest in water infrastructure … that includes billions of dollars in funding for projects across the country to build new water reuse, efficiency, storage, and conveyance facilities that secure and grow our water supplies.”

The law directs $550 billion toward projects that will specifically increase water security, storage capacity and modernization of water infrastructure.

From Huffman’s stated position, I surmise that he is not advocating for the North Coast to receive the benefits of these already approved historic federal funds.

When the federal government is spending half a trillion dollars to provide Americans with more water, why would we pay $500 million to have less?

Over the last decade, the North Coast has faced a prolonged regional water crisis. In addition to the nearly $1 billion California has received to date from President Joe Biden’s bill to improve water infrastructure, the state has sat on $2.7 billion specifically allocated for water storage development for almost a decade.

Yet, Huffman intends Californians to spend upward of $500 million to reduce the North Coast’s freshwater storage by 26.2 billion gallons (80,650 acre-feet) — equal to a water supply that would last nine months, 12 days for each human in the district.

Three key consequences that Huffman’s dam destruction plan does not address:

• The increased fire risk our residents and firefighters will face due to reduced water access.

• The impact on agricultural producers from starving our land of water and aquifer recharge.

• The economic and environmental costs and health impacts on residents, from increasing water costs to worsening water scarcity.

Also missing from Huffman’s plan: Who will pay the $500 million to fund his destruction of Scott Dam? How does he plan to replace the year-round water supplied by Lake Pillsbury to residents and the new diversion facility –  particularly in drought years? Why is he completely disregarding the stated wishes of Lake County, where Pillsbury is located?

Further, as a result of Sacramento’s housing mandates to all California cities and counties, our region’s demand for water is only going up. How does Huffman square this reality with his plan?

Huffman’s group does not have a plan to address our region’s water insecurity. So far, he is only offering his constituents another government authority to manage the reduction of our water resources and, in all likelihood, more taxes. This sounds an awful lot like the failing Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit commuter train, of which Huffman was the campaign co-chair.

Everyone can agree that California needs more water storage. So why is Huffman pushing a $500 million plan to reduce our water storage without a solution for our water needs? Prudence dictates that we build a new water source before we remove our old water source.

He owes all of us an explanation. We have the land and historic funding for more water storage. All we are missing is leadership.

Chris Coulombe is a Sonoma County Republican running for the House of Representatives District 2 seat next year. Learn more at christocongress.com.