Elections

By Fraser Shilling

Water sustainability is likely to be one of the most important issues of the 21st century, affecting everyone, regardless of race and income. Realizing this makes people start to feel nervous and insecure, scrambling for their share, making sure they’ve “got theirs.”

Ironically, this response is not very adaptive in a complex and interconnected society like ours. Dividing water up fairly among competing needs and interests is the cornerstone of a democratic society. Making sure there is enough for the environment and people with less political power, while being cost-effective and maintaining economic well-being, is the cornerstone of a sustainable society.

by Steve Daubert

The city of Davis has been growing unsustainably. In the nineteen sixties, the city had a population of 16,000 souls. Since then, it has been growing by 50% every ten years – one of the fastest growth rates in the state. The population passed 54,000 in the 1990s, and would have continued on that pace, had not the voters slowed the expansion of the city with the passage of Measure J in 2000.

by Andrew Fulks, Chad Roberts, Alan Pryor, and Bob Schneider

Davis residents value nature, our natural lands, and our farmlands. From the scenic geology and diverse biology of the Inner Coast Range, to the fertile farmlands around us, to the beautiful and productive wetlands to our east, we live in a unique place. Recognizing the value of these natural assets of our own and our children’s future, Davisites have always worked hard to protect these special places and to contribute to a sustainable and vibrant regional environment.

But all is not well! Davis relies on 20 wells for its water; 16 wells pump water from an intermediate depth aquifer while the remaining four are deep wells. The quality of drinking water we get from our intermediate depth wells is deteriorating. The intermediate wells themselves are aging and becoming less reliable. Mineral contaminants in the water drawn from these wells pass through our homes and the City’s wastewater treatment plant, and are showing up and accumulating in the wetlands east of Davis.

By William Kopper, Michael Bartolic and Mark Siegler

Things have really heated up on the campaign trail in the last week and I have received some interesting and pointed complaints from people on both sides of the issue – which basically tells me I’m doing my job.

In that spirit, I will take on two claims that have been made in the past week – one from each side.

Measure I Forum Today at 1 pm at Davis Community Chambers

The People’s Vanguard of Davis, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and Davis Media Access (DMA) are co-sponsoring a roundtable forum on Measure I, also known as “The Surface Water Project.” Voters will have the opportunity to vote on Measure I in an all-mail only Special Election, March 5, 2013.

By Brett Lee

When I campaigned for Davis City Council, my platform on the water issue was for a more affordable project that was appropriately sized and, most importantly, voter-approved. The project that is now being proposed in Measure I is about $30 million less expensive, and has shrunk in size from about 18 million gallons a day to 12 million gallons a day.

And on March 5, we will all get to vote on it — yes or no. Prior to March 5, all voters will receive a mailer from the city that clearly spells out the rate increases that will be required if the project is approved.

By John Munn

The City of Davis will be conducting 5 community meetings during February to provide information about proposed changes in the city’s water supply and water rates. In addition, in accordance with Proposition 218, all property owners will be sent notices about the Public Hearing on March 19, 2013, during which they may offer testimony about the proposed new water rates.

Community Meeting Schedule

People’s Vanguard of Davis and Davis Media Access Invite Public to “Measure I” Forum

The People’s Vanguard of Davis, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and Davis Media Access (DMA) are co-sponsoring a roundtable forum on Measure I, also known as “The Surface Water Project.” Voters will have the opportunity to vote on Measure I in an all-mail only Special Election, March 5, 2013.

By Matt Williams

Bob Dunning in his Sunday column spent a whole lot of words to ask a simple question, “Why is summer peak consumption used in the CBFR calculation?” Bob is smiling right now because his column constructed a very creative scenario using five “stars” of water use, Joe, Dan, Brett, Lucas and Rochelle.

I was somewhat surprised that Bob didn’t refer to them as the Fab Five. The example Bob provides, is a mathematically well-crafted hypothetical with consumption amounts for each of the five “stars,” but everyone in Davis knows that the water system in Davis isn’t built to reliably deliver water to just 5 customers, but rather to over 16,000 customers.  So lets put Bob’s five “stars” into the context of the whole Davis “universe.”

This morning, Bob Dunning attempts to explain why he believes the city has violated the Prop. 218 proportionality requirements.

“Prop. 218, which reads like a ratepayer’s bill of rights, lays out in detail what a city can and can’t do with a variety of taxes, assessments and fees, including water rates,” he writes.  Mr. Dunning then argues that “a critical element of Prop. 218 (is) known as ‘proportionality.’ “

City Staff Mistakes Feed into Negative Perception by Some in the Community – The Vanguard spent quite some time attempting to get data from the city of Davis as to what the revenue requirements would be for the city to build a surface water project versus no project.

We first requested the data way back right after the New Year.  There were claims at that time made by the opposition to the project about the cost of the water project per year producing much more revenue than the $113 million surface water project plus loan repayments should have cost.

It is perhaps one of the biggest questions of the Measure I campaign.  The Yes on Measure I side has argued that, even absent the water project, “the days of cheap water are over” and there will be considerable water rate hikes, regardless of whether voters approve Measure I.

Elaine Roberts Musser told the Vanguard during an interview two weeks ago, that “there’s a cost to not doing the project. If you don’t do the project and the wells start to fail… there’s a cost there too.  If we can’t come into compliance, we get fined by the state.  And the state has told us that they’re not going to allow a community to benefit from not coming into compliance.”