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MONTEREY PENINSULA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT BOARD

From the Monterey County Herald
Serving Monterey County and the Salinas Valley

June 19, 2004

L E T T E R S

Editor:

Any lingering doubts as to the identity of the proponents of Sen. Bruce McPherson's bill to dissolve the water district have now been dispelled. The latest financial disclosure reports list a "Who's Who" of big development interests throughout the county (The Herald, June 12.)

Their hypocrisy in defining this effort as support for affordable housing is equal to that of the mayors, the same people who continue to stonewall Congressman Farr's pleas for low-cost housing on Fort Ord.

Our real problem is Cal-Am, whose historic over-drafting of the Carmel River is the cause of our current water deficit. Its new status as a wholly owned subsidiary of the German global conglomerate RWE poses a new threat. A petition pending before the World Trade Organization would change the definition of water from a resource to a commodity. This would allow global companies to sue states whose regulations interfered with their commercial activities. This would nullify our environmental protections and render community concerns irrelevant.

The California cities of Fenton and Montara, faced with inadequate service and increasing water rates, have petitioned the PUC for the right to buy out Cal-Am. We should empower our district to do the same--and soon.

Janice M. O'Brien
Pebble Beach