Press Conference: Stop TWD

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

PUBLIC CALLS ON BUTTE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

TO REJECT TUSCAN WATER DISTRICT

LOCATION:  Durham Community Park, 1847 Durham Dayton Highway, Durham

WHEN: Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 10:30 AM

CONTACT: Jeffrey F. Obser, Communications Director

           Groundwater for Butte

           info@groundwaterforbutte.org

July 12, 2023

The fate of Butte County’s groundwater is a matter of profound public concern. Hugely consequential plans for managing its sustainability under State law have so far formed largely outside the public’s view.

Claiming that Butte County lacks the funds to do the job in-house, the Board of Supervisors has been moving to outsource control of northwest Butte County’s groundwater supply to a new government agency, the Tuscan Water District (TWD). But doing it this way risks spending far more on the effort while also taking away public control over the groundwater. 

The Butte County Board of Supervisors is on course to approve an election to form the TWD without any plans or mechanisms to fund it. The public has not been informed who has funded the effort so far, how much will be owed to pay back initial costs, nor who will be on the hook to pay the bills should the future funding election fail. What’s more, the “recharge” plans it relies on are scientifically unproven.

Would you buy a car without knowing what it costs, how you will pay for it, or if it even runs?

We are concerned that putting the public’s groundwater in the hands of such agencies will:

–Exclude the vast majority of voters from any input about their groundwater’s future;

–Shift power away from local farms and families toward corporations aggressively buying land;

–Accelerate well failures, tree die-offs, and deterioration of Valley Oak ecosystems;

–Enable the State to demand withdrawals once our water is plumbed into its networks.

Groundwater for Butte (G4B) is a new Political Action Committee formed to oppose the Tuscan Water District and raise awareness of its risks to our most important resource: The water we all depend on.

G4B will hold a press conference and camera-friendly fake-ballot-ripping ceremony at Durham Community Park on Tuesday, July 18 at 10:30 AM. Local farmers, residents, and TWD opponents will speak to the many reasons why TWD is a bad idea and should be rejected by the Board of Supervisors. 

Our website, groundwaterforbutte.org, lays out the case against the TWD in significant detail, complete with maps and a brief video. Thank you for your attention to this crucial issue. We hope to see you at the press conference.

We oppose the formation of the Tuscan Water District and demand that Butte County officials step up to their responsibilities under State law. The groundwater belongs to the public and must be managed transparently by publicly elected authorities - not privatized as a "water bank."