Every Voice Counts
The more people register their opposition to the Tuscan Water District, the harder it will be for its boosters to continue ignoring the public’s already vocal protests. Ideally, the petitioners themselves will realize the expensive and risky folly of this project and join in the calls for a rethink.
It's natural to feel overwhelmed and defeated in the face of such powerful, deeply funded political machinations.
But if enough people do that one little thing, it can really add up.
Did everyone signing the petition against the Valley's Edge mega-development in the water-recharge area above Chico believe the referendum campaign would succeed? It did – by miles.
– Talk to your neighbors, friends, and business associates about TWD. Find out what they think of it, and educate them any way you can.
–If they are growers, ask them if their TWD property-tax increase will be more affordable than investing in irrigation efficiency. Ask if they think groundwater might be regulated more fairly by Butte County's excellent Department of Water and Resource Conservation, or if they're comfortable turning it over to this semi-private entity (TWD) dominated by large corporate growers.
And if they have realized how difficult it will be to compete with those larger growers when the time comes to adjudicate water use within the TWD, ask them if they can afford really good lawyers.
– The Chico Enterprise-Record's Letters to the Editor section has been and remains a valuable forum for public discussion of this issue – the one most likely to be noticed by the powers that be.
– By all means, vote no on any ballot you receive to vote on the TWD.
– Contact Butte County Board of Supervisors, Butte LAFCo Commissioners, and the Chico City Council to state your objection to the opaque and undemocratic TWD process (follow links for your district map and contact addresses).
Suggestions on what to say:
“I object that large corporate landowners who enjoy reduced property assessments under the Williamson Act have voting rights on a parcel tax, or on anything else for that matter.”
“I object that hundreds of non-landowner registered voters who live within the proposed district do not get to vote on this.”
"I object that the City of Chico has no meaningful input on the future of the groundwater that 100,000 citizens depend upon for their quality of life and the survival of the urban tree canopy."
“The Tuscan Water District organization hasn’t explained any of this to a single resident they are proposing to tax so that the groundwater can be turned over to an emerging oligarchy of water purveyors.”
"Why all the secrecy, folks?"
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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."
