Good Environmental Policy is Also Good Economic Policy

By Kit Kesinger

Water conservation, less imported water, less salt contamination in our groundwater, less pumping - All make good sense, both environmentally and economically.

IMPORTED WATER IS MAKING OUR GROUND WATER SALTIER - SALTY ENOUGH TO BE BAD FOR WILDLIFE, FARMERS AND THE LANDSCAPING AND GARDENS AT OUR HOMES. THIS IMPORTED SALT CAUSES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO A WATER RESOURCE THAT'S VITAL TO RAMONA'S ECONOMY.

The salt comes from importing water from the Colorado River. Picture 1,000 pickup trucks filled with pure salt - dumping that salt in our community. As disturbing as that image is, that's just a fraction of the salt the Ramona Water District brings into our valley each year. Water experts know about the problem - more than once the Water District has been cited for violating regulations by discharging too much salt from the District's sewer plants.

The solution I support is to use less imported water and more local water from Sutherland Reservoir, and to some extent from groundwater. Sutherland Reservoir has way less salt, and costs less than imported water. So Ramona would get better water AND SAVE MONEY. Ground water could be used because it's VERY inexpensive, and by mixing it with Sutherland water, ground water can be used without the higher salt causing problems. The combined savings would pay for the cost of building pipelines needed to move Sutherland Reservoir water to where it's needed. Once the project is paid for, that system for using Sutherland water would save Ramona millions of dollars each year.

Many other projects have both environmental and economic benefits for Ramona.
- Water conservation saves money on landscaping,
gardening and farming.
- Recycling water from Ramona's waste treatment plants
lowers the cost of sewer service, because the Sewer
District gets income from selling recycled water.
- Less pumping conserves electricity and saves money.
Using less imported water means less pumping.

The Ramona Water Board needs someone who can make economic sense out of the environmental issues. I've already spent years working for environmentally sound management at the Water Board. I'm well known in Ramona for environmental work. The grant applications and habitat preservation plans I helped write brought nearly $100 Million for new parks and open space preserves in and around Ramona. If elected to the Water Board, I'll bring more environmental experience to the Board than any of the current Members.