The Water Supply and Water Quality Act of 2018 will appear as Proposition 3 on the Nov. 6 ballot. If passed, Proposition 3 would make available $8.9 billion in general obligation bonds to fund projects for water supply and quality, watershed restoration, fish and wildlife protection, sustainable groundwater management and repair of existing dams and canals.
Proposition 3 funds would augment $1.6 billion for water-related projects already approved by the voters on June 5 with the passage of Proposition 68.
ACWA’s Board of Directors unanimously voted in November of 2017 to support both propositions and views them as complementary to each other.
On June 27, ACWA Deputy Executive Director for Government Relations Cindy Tuck testified about the importance of what is now Proposition 3 before the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. She testified at the hearing alongside Proposition 3 proponent Jerry Meral, who is the director of the California Water Program at the Natural Heritage Institute. Both Meral and Tuck also testified regarding the November bond on June 12 before the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation.
The Sierra Club testified in opposition at both hearings, noting, for example, the organization’s preference for bonds that are developed by the Legislature. Tuck emphasized that the November bond would provide $500 million for safe drinking water prioritized for disadvantaged communities and $640 million for sustainable groundwater management.
These two funding areas are examples of how Proposition 3 would help fund implementation of the California Water Action Plan.
More information about Proposition 3 is available online at www.waterbond.org.
