Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger                                  Thursday, May 22, 2008
State Capitol
Sacramento California 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger;

    I am a farmer of a fifty-two year old family operation in San Diego County and currently subject to a mandatory 30% water reduction on my farm. With the recent court decisions regarding the movement of water in the Delta, I am concerned about water deliveries and water supply throughout California and the economic impact of the inability to store and move water.

     I strongly support all your efforts to bring about solutions to the water issues in California. The purpose of this letter is to request that you take the extraordinary step of asking President George W. Bush to convene the “God Squad” under the Endangered Species Act. The God Squad needs to examine the current court decision and hopefully override the Endangered Species Act restriction on pumping and allow your department of Water Resources to turn on the pumps at Tracy during spring periods of peak water flow. The State of California has many great and capable water managers who have been able to make an outdated system provide water for California's economic engine. However, I think the current restrictions will make it impossible for them, without a huge amount of rain next year, to meet California's the water needs.

      Today I am leaving for Sacramento on my tractor to bring attention to this problem. Some farmers will join me for a barbeque at McKinley Park in Sacramento on Monday, May 26, Memorial Day. You and any of your staff are welcome to join us. You can contact me by phone 760.801.9786 if you have any questions.

Respectfully

Eric T. Anderson

Farmer

20250 Aquilera Lane

The Community of Elfin Forest

Escondido, California 92029

 

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Governor's Response to Eric (6/5/08)

From: governor@govmail.ca.gov

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about developing a comprehensive plan to address California's water crisis.  I am committed to protecting our natural resources and ensuring that Californians have safe and adequate water supplies for many generations to come.

Whether it's the drought, reduced pumping through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or our half-empty reservoirs, everyone can see that we haven't done enough to protect California's water for the future.  A commitment to building up our water infrastructure is no different than the need to strengthen our transportation or education systems.  As we see an increase in population, we must build more roads, we must build more schools and we must build more water infrastructure.  Our water infrastructure was built for 20 million people, but now our population is 37 million and growing.  The time for action is now - we cannot wait for a disaster to strike or for our rising population to outgrow our water supply.

That's why I am proposing an $11.9 billion water infrastructure bond as part of my 2008 Strategic Growth Plan.  My comprehensive plan invests in additional surface and groundwater storage to help meet our current and future needs.  It provides for much-needed conservation and water efficiency measures.  My plan will help protect communities against flooding and capture water from storms and snowmelt run-off to ensure supply for our cities, farms and businesses.  It includes efforts to restore our ailing Delta and develop a new conveyance system because we must protect this fragile and vital ecosystem and ensure that the millions of Californians who rely on the Delta continue to have access to clean, safe water. 

Again, thanks for writing.  Please know I will keep your thoughts in mind as I work with my colleagues in the Legislature this year to approve a comprehensive upgrade to California's water infrastructure.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger
 

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