State water plan could hurt local economy, officials say
By: Alex Maclean, The Union Democrat
A state plan to require an average of 40 percent unimpaired flows on the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced rivers could have dire socio-economic consequences for the people of Tuolumne County, according to local officials.
District 5 Supervisor Karl Rodefer, chairman of the county’s Water Policy Committee, said he’s seen surveys that have suggested water recreation drives as much as 80 percent of tourism in the county. “It will cripple our economy up here if it goes through,” Rodefer said of the plan.
Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, blasted the plan in a strongly worded press release that called it “the first shot fired in the next chapter of California’s water wars” and vowed that “decades worth of lawsuits are about to begin” if the state “continues to violate principles of good faith.”
Barbara Balen, president of the TUD Board of Directors, said she’s also concerned about the environmental consequences of “dewatering the Sierra Nevada,” especially when it comes to fire protection. “I want every single stock pond and every pot of irrigation or raw water be partially dedicated to fire protection,” she said. “I would hate for the district to be liable if we ran out of water to fight a fire in the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface).”
Link to the Union Democrat article:
