Voting ‘yes’ will keep SLO County and state bureaucrats out of our groundwater

Pro/Con: Should voters approve formation of a Paso Robles groundwater basin management district?

Click here to read an argument against the district »

Like it or not, a new state law has turned groundwater management on its head. Someone will be in charge of our groundwater and we will have to pay for management of the basin. The question becomes: Who will be the management agency and how much will it cost?

Under new state law, we must have a local agency in place by June 2017 and we must then begin to work with the cities and other service agencies to develop a comprehensive state-approved plan to prevent further depletion of our wells, or the state will take over. A local water district, run by volunteer and unpaid board members, can do this job more quickly and at less expense than any county or state bureaucracy.

Thomas Jefferson is credited with saying, “The government closest to the people serves the people best.” On Feb. 8 ballots were mailed, offering us the opportunity to decide who will manage our groundwater and if we consent to an assessment on our property to cover its cost. A yes vote on Measures A-16 and B-16 means we will keep control of the basin local and out of the hands of the county and state.

If Measure B fails and Measure A, the funding vote passes, then management of the basin will be up to county supervisors. Not only do none of the supervisors own land or depend upon wells in our basin, they are consumed with many other county issues and county politics. A yes vote on both measures will ensure that locally elected water district directors will focus only on one thing: managing our groundwater and only representing our district.

Voting no on Measures A and B does not prevent a new tax. Usually, voting no means that landowners avoid being taxed. This case is different. “No” is no longer a choice as there will be a management agency, which will charge us. We get to decide if it is the local water district or the county or the state.

For the first time in history, the state now has the power to regulate our wells and place a fee on our tax bills to recover their costs, just like Sacramento did for the Fire Prevention Fee. The state has said their fee would be higher than under Measure A where most rural residents will pay less than $40 per year. Like it or not, if we don’t agree to assess ourselves the state will do it for us and charge us much more.

If the county continues to do what it has historically done — which is nothing — then the state has said they will take over management of the basin in 2017. Some say that surely the county would not allow the state to take over and would somehow come up with the funds. This is wishful thinking. County staff and the supervisors have made it clear there are no extra funds or secret reserves to pay for this and they cannot and will not cover it out of general funds.

Voting yes brings some important benefits. For the first time, rural landowners in the unincorporated areas of the North County will be represented by a nine-member district board which can sit eye-to-eye as an equal with the municipalities and the county. A water district keeps management funds here versus being dumped into county or state coffers.

Importantly, our water district is the only management agency that is prohibited from exporting any water outside its boundaries. Both the county and the state can export water. Our water district can also focus on developing local alternative sources such as Lake Nacimiento, recycled water from the cities and increasing the storage capacity of the Santa Margarita Reservoir.

In summary, here are the reasons you should vote yes on Measures A and B:

▪  The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires our groundwater basin to be managed according to new state rules.

▪  The proposed water district will be governed by people like us. Outsiders need not apply. Only people who are residents here can run for the Water District Board.

▪  Voting no will not prevent you from paying new taxes. Our basin will be managed and you will be taxed to pay for that management. Additionally, SGMA contains the power to regulate our wells, to place meters on our wells and charge fees for our water usage. We can choose if management is done locally, in San Luis Obispo or in Sacramento. Local is better.

▪  Under the new law, the state now has the power to intervene next year if we do not establish local control.

▪  A nine-member Water District Board can sit eye-to-eye as an equal with the municipalities and the county.

▪  The proposed water district is prevented from exporting any water outside its boundaries.

▪  The water district’s board members are unpaid and can do this job more quickly and at less expense than any county or state bureaucracy.

Voting “yes” on these measures takes control out of the hands of the state and the county supervisors. State intervention is taxation without representation. We urge you to vote yes on Measures A and B. Vote yes for local control. Vote yes to keep county and state bureaucrats out of our water.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 5:21 AM with the headline "Voting ‘yes’ will keep SLO County and state bureaucrats out of our groundwater."