Food & Water Watch Accepts Delay of Water Bond Until 2012 as a Win

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Watch

“Monday night, the California Legislature voted narrowly to postpone Proposition 18, the $11 billion water bond, to the 2012 ballot. This vote was an admission that the bond is wildly unpopular with voters — something that will not change in the next two years. California voters have strongly opposed the measure because it is the wrong approach to managing the state’s public water resources. Rather than investing in projects that benefit the public, it provides more handouts to private interests that have overused and polluted our water in the past. The bond’s cost — $22 billion over 30 years — would short-change important public services, including drinking and wastewater infrastructure improvements that the state badly needs.

“The postponement of the bond to 2012 was a significant victory for Food & Water Watch and our coalition partners, who have opposed the bond since its passage last November. Opposition was so great that bond supporters saw the writing on the wall: they were not going to get what they wanted this year. It is unlikely to pass in 2012, particularly given our commitment to work against the bond and for better water policies over the next two years.

“Several members of the Assembly took bold steps to oppose this bond, including Assemblymembers Huffman (Marin/Santa Rosa), Wolk (Davis), Buchanan (Livermore), and Yamada (Vacaville). We applaud them for their efforts and look forward to working them to promote water policies that benefit the public, not private interests, in the years to come.”

Contact: Anna Ghosh, Food & Water Watch, 415-293-9905, aghosh(at)fwwatch(dot)org