Send your message to Metropolitan Water District today regarding the Delta tunnel vote!
On Tuesday, December 10th, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors is voting as to whether they should spend an additional $141 million for Delta tunnel planning. This is not their vote to fund the tunnel— but it is a significant vote to continue funding the planning process.
We need your help! And our ask is very specific.
We are asking you to take the email template below, modify it, and send an email to the Board’s support staff at BoardExecutiveSecretary@mwdh2o.com.
Request that your email comment is shared with the Board. Also, please copy us on the email at info@restorethedelta.org so that we can keep count of the number of emails our supporters are sending.
By copying us, you will help us when we provide the Met Board with live public comments at the Board meeting which you can watch here.
We are organizing this effort in this manner because the Met Board stops listening in a meaningful way when they receive too many calls and because our goal is to let them know that Delta communities support efforts in the Delta other than the tunnel to help them secure a sustainable water supply. We want to affirm that an opportunity for collaboration between the Delta and Southern California is genuine, and that such a collaboration can save Metropolitan and their rate payers billions of dollars while better protecting the Delta’s ecosystem and communities.
Your input is important because we know that the Governor is pressuring Metropolitan leaders to fund tunnel planning.
To counter that, our goal here is a message of unity that emphasizes better alternatives for Metropolitan Water District ratepayers because an affordable California is at the top of everyone’s priorities throughout the state.
Here below is the cut and paste email message. Keep your email positive and polite. Let it be known we are about problem solving. We thank you for helping us as we advocate for the Delta.
Onward,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Dear Metropolitan Board Members,
We are organizing this effort in this manner because the Met Board stops listening in a meaningful way when they receive too many calls and because our goal is to let them know that Delta communities support efforts in the Delta other than the tunnel to help them secure a sustainable water supply.
I am a Delta supporter, and I am urging you to not move forward with an additional $141 million for Delta tunnel planning. The tunnel during construction and operations will destroy the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas — its 700 native species, and its rural and urban communities.
The tunnel will also not solve your water needs in a cost effective manner. Your own staff has estimated that the Delta Freshwater Pathway would cost MET $700 million, whereas the Delta tunnel starts at $20 billion before construction overruns and interest on bond debt. The Freshwater Pathway provides 300-year flood protection and mitigates against seismic activity with its wide levees, also providing for space for wetland restoration. This plan along with local Delta contributions to levee upgrades, already in the hundreds of millions of dollars, coupled with collaborative efforts between Delta parties, the state, and Metropolitan for fishery protection and sustainable agriculture are an affordable alternative to the destructive and financially wasteful Delta tunnel.
California voters throughout the state made it clear that they want an affordable California. This cost effective alternative protects Metropolitan’s water supply and helps to keep ratepayer bills lower.
Delay the vote before spending another $141 million of ratepayer money. Have staff conduct a deep financial analysis of the alternative and compare it to the tunnel. Meet with Delta water leaders, community groups, and elected officials and thoroughly vet this alternative before throwing good money after bad.
The Delta community knows how to be part of the solution. Together, we can work for the best interests of the estuary and the people of Southern California.
Thank you for considering my comments,
Your Name
The health of the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and Delta communities remains our top priority for 2025.
Your tax-deductible gift will help us achieve our goals for next year and beyond.
Support our organization today or mail a check to 2616 Pacific Ave #4296, Stockton, CA 95204.