Paso basin voters don’t want vineyards to control future

Voter rejection of a new water district for the Paso Robles groundwater basin does not necessarily mean they don’t want a managed basin. They just don’t want a basin managed by the corporate vineyards that created the problem and that have no moral compass.

Many voted against both the special district and associated funding to be sure it didn’t have a chance to succeed. Many prefer a water basin managed by the county Board of Supervisors sitting as the Flood Control and Water Conservation District and understand they’ll have to pay for it. It is, after all, a zone of benefit that folks outside of its boundaries shouldn’t have to pay for.

I hope the Board of Supervisors will give us a chance to put our money where our mouths are and give us the choice of paying for the flood control district to manage our basin. To sum up what I believe is a pervasive sentiment among a majority of voters: We simply didn’t want to pay our tomorrows for vineyard profits today! Now, give us a choice that gives us a future.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 8:26 PM with the headline "Paso basin voters don’t want vineyards to control future."