#6 / Not A Pretty Story

My local paper is the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The editorial in today's edition suggested that our lack of rain in December (and so far in January) might soon turn a “weather” story into a “water” story.

From my perspective, the “real story” is a "political story."

At a time of incredible uncertainty about City water supplies, the Santa Cruz City Council is pushing hard to extend water service to the UCSC North Campus. The University is seeking 152 million gallons of water a year to allow the construction of over 3,000,000 square feet of new buildings in what is now a natural reserve area, an area located outside the City’s official urban-rural boundary.

Our natural environment and current water customers are both being put at considerable risk by this effort to extend water service beyond the boundaries of the City's current water service area. The City's willingness (literally) to ignore the limits established in its own General Plan, and by our natural environment, is not a “pretty story,” from my perspective.