HomeMy WebLinkAbout77-137RESOLUTION NO. 77-157
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA SUPPORTING
SENATE BILL 346
WHEREAS, the coastal plain of Southern California de-
pends for more than two-thirds of its water supply on three
aqueducts--the Los Angeles, the California, and the Colorado;
and
WHEREAS, the City of Los Angeles' supply from the Owens
Valley through its Los Angeles Aqueduct has been limited this
year because of drought in the Sierras and a court injunction
against pumping from the underground in the valley; and
WHEREAS, because of the worst drought in history in
Northern and Central California, the Metropolitan Water Dis-
trict of Southern California, hereinafter referred to as
"Metropolitan," agreed to stop taking delivery of northern
water from the State's California Aqueduct on March 1 for the
remainder of this calendar year; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the shortage of supply from
both the City of Los Angeles and California aqueducts, Metro-
politan has been forced to operate its Colorado River Aqueduct
well beyond its design capacity; and
WHEREAS, a flash flood of unprecedented magnitude put
the Colorado River Aqueduct completely out of operation for
five days in September with a resultant loss of supply of
some 12 billion gallons of water; and
WHEREAS, the City of Los Angeles has fully developed
its potential water supply in the Owens Valley and Mono Basin;
and
WHEREAS, Metropolitan, as a result of the U. S. Supreme
Court decision in Arizona versus California, will suffer the
loss of more than half a million acre-feet of the 1.2 million
acre-feet of its annual Colorado River Supply to the Central
Arizona Project in the mid-1980's; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Santa Ana fully
supports all efforts to eliminate wasteful uses of water'through
installation of water-saving devices and through long-range
educational campaigns; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Santa Ana also
fully supports reuse of water, particularly for industrial
needs, and more efficient use of groundwater supplies in con-
junction with surface deliveries; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Santa Ana,
in addition, urges continuing research into other potential
sources of supply, as, for example, the desalting of sea water,
which at present are economically unfeasible; and
RESOLUTION NO. 77-137
PAGE TWO
WHEREAS, in the light of all the preceding, it appears
overwhelmingly clear that early completion of the State Water
Project, along with construction of additional features of
the Federal Central Valley Project, is an immediate and vital
necessity; and
WHEREAS, a key element of this overall program is joint
Federal-State construction of the Peripheral Canal around the
delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers; and
WHEREAS, although the Peripheral Canal is and will
remain an authorized facility of the State Water Project and
may be constructed by the State alone, whether SB 346 is en-
acted or not, joint construction and operation with the Bureau
of Reclamation is desirable; and
WHEREAS, such a program offers the best hope of meet-
ing the water needs of not only Southern California but also
Central and Northern California in the years ahead and possibly
until the year 2000; and
WHEREAS, this program is embodied in State Senate Bill
346 which this year received a majority vote in both the Senate
and Assembly but failed to obtain the necessary two-thirds
vote in the upper house; and
WHEREAS, this measure is expected to be before the
State Legislature for further consideration in January:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council
of the City of Santa Ana does hereby endorse Senate Bill 346
as an urgently needed step toward meeting the water problems
of the entire State of California; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the
City of Santa Aha does hereby call upon all members of the
State Legislature to join in supporting this proposed legis-
lation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Boards of Supervisors
of the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernar-
dino, San Diego, and Ventura and all cities and water agencies
within the Metropolitan Water District are hereby urged to
go on record in strong support of Senate Bill 346 and to so
notify their representatives in the State Legislature.
ADOPTED this 7th
1977, by the following vote:
day of November
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ATTEST:
COUNCILMEN:
COUNCILMEN:
COUNCILMEN:
Garthe, Ward, Bricken, 0rtiz,
Yamamoto, Evans, Brandt
VERNON S. EVANS, MAYOR
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
KEITH L. GOW
CITY ATTORNEY