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Food & Water Watch > Take Action > In Your Community > Pacific Region > California > Stop the Corporate Water Grab

Stop the Corporate Water Grab

On July 25, 2012, California’s Governor Jerry Brown announced a plan to construct two massive tunnels to export Sacramento River water to Central and Southern California. Projected to be the largest public works project in the state’s history, the Tunnels will likely result in a $50 billion give-away to corporate agriculture and real estate developers at the expense of ratepayers and taxpayers.

Top Reasons to Stop the Peripheral Tunnels:

  • The project does not provide any additional water for southern California residents yet would cost southern California ratepayers billions to construct.
  • The tunnels project will not protect California’s water supply against natural disasters and contains no money for levee reinforcement.  The state already has over one billion dollars from previous bonds to begin levee reinforcement, a much cheaper and less destructive project than the Tunnels.
  • The tunnels would be a wasteful use of ratepayer and taxpayer money and the proposal to build them is already undermining local and regional efforts to maximize local water supplies. 
  • The project would submerge local water departments in debt forcing higher rates for ratepayers and increased water department layoffs.
  • Good long-term local jobs come from implementing local water initiatives such as installing water efficiency technologies, grey water, rain catch and recycling systems.

Ratepayers and taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay tens of billions of dollars on a unnecessary project that serves to primarily benefit special interests. We can make our water supply more reliable by increasing local sources, replacing and upgrading our aging pipes, and ultimately, decrease the need for expensive imported water while creating good local jobs. Join Food & Water Watch and our allies in pulling the plug on Governor Brown’s Peripheral Tunnels plans.

 

A Rip-Off for Los Angeles

Food & Water Watch commissioned a study by ECONorthwest that shows the rate increases that Los Angeles residents can expect if the Peripheral Tunnels project is permitted to move forward. According to the analysis, ratepayers could be on the hook to pay an additional $2,003 and $9,182 to cover the cost of the massive public works project that will undermine conservation and local water efforts and primarily benefit a few corporate agribusinesses. The full analysis can be downloaded here.