February 6, 2018 – Yuba County Water Agency supports initiatives and efforts that help provide flood risk reduction, groundwater management, watershed protection and habitat restoration for the benefit of the people who live and work in our community.
This year, we are placing our support behind two proposed bond measures that will be on statewide ballots, known collectively as the 2018 Water and Park Bonds.
If approved by California voters, these initiatives would provide billions of dollars for statewide water management projects to enhance water supplies for societal and environmental uses, including projects valuable to Yuba County residents.
Senate Bill No. 5, the “California Drought, Water, Parks, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018”, is a $4 billion bond that would provide millions of dollars to implement voluntary agreements that benefit water quality, supply and watershed protection and restoration, for Central Valley flood protection and levee improvements, and for drought and groundwater investments to achieve regional sustainability.
The National Heritage Institute’s proposed measure, the “State Water Supply Infrastructure, Water Conveyance, Ecosystem and Watershed Protection and Restoration, and Drinking Water Protection Act of 2018, is an $8.9 billion bond that would provide funding for flood management improvements to existing dams, including possibly New Bullards Bar Dam, and for salmon restoration or reintroduction projects in the Sacramento Valley.
Because of the increasingly extreme weather patterns we are experiencing, it is becoming more important for us to make significant investments in improving infrastructure to be better prepared for potential future droughts and floods.
In my capacity as YCWA Board Chairman and Association of California Water Agencies President, I encourage the people of Yuba County to review the 2018 Water and Park Bonds.
Actively investing in flood risk reduction projects in our community is the first step in rebuilding and reinvigorating our economy. We continue working toward that goal every day, but we can use all the help we can get.
-Brent Hastey, YCWA Board Chairman