HomeMy WebLinkAboutSB 669 _20190507_SupportLetter
April 30, 2019
The Honorable Bill Dodd
Chair, Senate Government Organization Committee
State Capitol Building, Room 4032
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 669 (Caballero) Water quality: Safe Drinking Water Fund
Notice of SUPPORT (As Introduced 2-22-19)
Dear Senator Dodd:
The City of San Luis Obispo is pleased to Support SB 669 (Caballero), which would establish the Safe
Drinking Water Trust Fund to provide a stable funding source to disadvantaged communities who do not
have access to safe drinking water.
Maintaining high quality water throughout California is essential. SB 669 creates a Trust that would be
funded through the general fund in budget surplus years. The investment from the principal would be
transferred to the State Water Resources Control Board to fund projects to help address community water
systems that are chronically noncompliant with state and federal water quality standards.
As water providers, we are faced with escalating costs related to infrastructure replacement, increasing
water quality regulations, and other measures we undertake to provide safe drinking water to our
communities. As we continue to take on these efforts, water affordability is impacted and is becoming a
major area of focus in our planning and operations. Supporting the use of a trust fund to provide resources
to the most vulnerable members of our communities allows for enhancements to water infrastructure and
water quality in disadvantaged communities, while not impacting water affordability across the state. As a
leader in promoting equitable and sustainable solutions to the State’s water issues, the City of San Luis
Obispo continually works hand-in-hand with impacted communities through regional efforts such as the
Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC) and Integrated Regional Water Management Group
(IRWMG). A trust fund would serve to complement the efforts of these groups to protect water quality and
availability, while not worsening affordability concerns that many in our region face.
Cities across the State provide the critical service of securing and providing safe drinking water to their
residents. This bill is a way to help create a long-term funding source for communities lacking access to
clean drinking water, without placing a tax on water or raising its cost.
For these reasons, the City of San Luis Obispo Supports SB 669.
Sincerely,
Heidi Harmon
Mayor
City of San Luis Obispo
cc: The Honorable Anna Caballero, fax (916) 651-4912
State Senator Bill Monning, fax (916) 651-4917
State Assembly Member Jordan Cunningham, fax (916) 319-2135
Dave Mullinax, League of California Cities, dmullinax@cacities.org
Meg Desmond, League of California Cities, mdesmond@cacities.org
San Luis Obispo City Council