The Corona Chamber of Commerce has announced its opposition to legislation that would block the channeling of water from the Sacramento River to Southern California, more importantly to the City of Corona.

“Enacting AB 1594 would undermine water supply reliability throughout Southern California and Corona, threatening jobs and the economic health of three quarters of the state’s population residing south of the Delta,” said Cynthia Schneider, Chair of the Chamber’s Legislative Action Committee (LAC). “In this case, it would be major mistake to benefit the particular at the expense of the general,” continued Schneider.

If passed, the legislation would revise a historic compromise and a series of laws that was passed just last year that addressed the prevention of water flow to other regions throughout the state. The Chamber believes that the compromise and laws appropriately addressed the matter and should not be revisited. Part of the compromise is a bond, slated for the November 2010 ballot in which voters will decide to spend the necessary money to fix California’s broken water system to the north.

“AB 1594 would cause a technical decision to evolve into a political one, which will surely delay the timing and process of securing the region’s water supply reliability,” continued Schneider.

July 10, 2009

Chamber Supports Water Conservation Legislation Directed at Mitigating Costs to Businesses

California is in its third year of a drought and businesses are being asked to reduce water usage as much as possible. There are a number of methods available to businesses to aid in any effort to conserve; however, most carry a large price tag, therefore placing them out of reach for many. It is in this light the Chamber supports AB 474, the focus of which is to mitigate the initial outlay for any business willing to increase their conservation efforts.

“This legislation is the needed link to provide the business community with an opportunity to make real conservation progress,” stated Cynthia Schneider, Chair of the Corona Chamber’s Legislation Action Committee. “With financing available for water conservation projects, our business community will be able to continue its efforts to be good stewards of one of our most valuable natural resources,” stated Schneider.

The key provision of Assembly Bill 474 allows commercial and residential property owners to enter into an agreement with public agencies (in this case, water agencies) to receive upfront financing for the installation of permanent water use efficiency improvements. Property owners will then be allowed to pay an annual assessment until all costs associated with the project are repaid to the public agency. Assembly Bill 474 expands upon last year’s AB 811, which authorized the use of voluntary assessment agreements between cities, counties and property owners for financing energy efficiency projects.

The passage of AB 474 will help California mitigate its chronic water needs.

September 29, 2008

Corona Chamber Takes Action – Calls for Comprehensive Statewide Water Reform

The Corona Chamber of Commerce urges state legislators to place a comprehensive water bond on the statewide ballot to ebb California’s water crisis. The current water crisis threatens our environment, the long-term stability of our economy and the overall quality of life in our community. The Chamber’s call to action comes as Governor Schwarzenegger called a state of emergency due to severe water shortages after declaring a statewide drought a few months ago.

The Corona business community can no longer wait for legislative leaders to agree on reforms. Some legislative leaders are considering a ballot measure, but it would not show up for two years. Delaying action will cause irreparable harm to our environment and to our economic vitality. The funding that would be created by a comprehensive water bond would allow California to promote both a healthy water ecosystem and an adequate water supply for our economy.

“We also support efforts to immediately allocate existing voter-approved bond funds to fix our delta and secure an adequate water supply for Southern California,” stated Cynthia Schneider, Chair of the Chamber’s Legislative Action Committee. “We must place a bond initiative on the ballot to provide additional funding to address these critical issues,” she continued.

We need to fund investments that will restore and enhance the Northern California Delta ecosystem, improve its physical infrastructure to avoid conflicts with the environment, ensure reliable delivery of water and better protect against floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters. A bond must also invest in projects that reduce contamination of groundwater basins, improve wastewater treatment and storm water management, and protect water quality for the environment.

Climate changes are reducing our mountain snow pack and we need to improve existing water storage facilities and develop new water storage capacity– both surface and below ground -- to capture rainfall and runoff and ensure adequate supplies of safe, reliable water in dry years. Additional storage will also equip our systems to meet temperature and flow requirements for wildlife species such as salmon.

We must also invest in water conservation efforts, including aggressive programs to encourage residents, growers and businesses to conserve. California must also expand local water recycling projects to stretch existing supplies.

Governor Schwarzenegger and US Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a comprehensive Corona Chamber-supported bond proposal that addresses the needs of our community and our state. The Chamber will continue to work closely with both Schwarzenegger and Feinstein in securing needed water reform via a statewide bond proposal.
 

August 25, 2008

Corona Chamber Urges Legislators For Comprehensive Water Reform

The Corona Chamber of Commerce urged state legislators today to place a comprehensive water bond on the November 2008 ballot. California’s water crisis threatens our environment, our economy and our quality of life.
 

Businesses in the Corona area can no longer wait. Waiting an additional two years to place a measure on the ballot will be too little, too late. Delaying action will cause irreparable harm to our environment and to our business community.

The Chamber supports efforts to immediately allocate existing voter approved bond funds into the system, but that’s not enough. We must place a comprehensive bond on the November 2008 ballot to provide additional funding to address these critical issues:

Safeguard our Environment AND the Economy.

The funding that is created by a comprehensive water bond will allow our state to invest in areas to promote both a healthy water ecosystem AND an adequate water supply for our economy.
 

Fix the Delta.

We need to fund investments that will restore and enhance the Delta ecosystem, improve its physical infrastructure to avoid conflicts with the environment, ensure reliable delivery of water and better protect against floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
 

Increase Water Supply.

Models indicate that climate changes will reduce our mountain snow pack and we need to improve existing water storage facilities and develop new water storage capacity– both surface and below ground -- to capture rainfall and runoff and ensure adequate supplies of safe, reliable water in dry years. Additional storage will also better equip our system to meet temperature and flow requirements for species such as salmon.
 

Water Quality Improvements.

A bond must invest in projects that reduce contamination of groundwater basins, improve wastewater treatment and storm water management, and protect water quality for the environment.
 

Water Conservation and Recycling.

We need to invest in water conservation efforts, including aggressive programs to encourage residents, growers and businesses to conserve water. California must also expand local water recycling projects to stretch existing supplies.

The Governor and Senator Feinstein have introduced a comprehensive bond that we believe is a feasible solution. We recognize it is the role of the legislature to analyze this plan and put forth a package before the voters.

November 8, 2007

Corona Chamber Supports Water Stability

The Corona Chamber of Commerce is urging its local legislators to support a water bond on the February 2008 ballot. This is coming on the heels of an August court decision limiting water outflow from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect endangered fish species. It is coming at a time when the Delta, the central hub for the state’s water, also needs upgrading to meet water demands throughout the state.

“We applaud the Governor for calling the Legislature into a special session this fall to solve our water crisis,” stated Cynthia Schneider, Chair of the Corona Chamber’s Legislative Action Committee. “California’s water infrastructure has endured water demand increases and is now susceptible to disasters like earthquakes, drought and other major catastrophes. It is time to protect the future of our water supply,” continued Schneider.

Over the past three decades, no significant new water infrastructure has been built to keep up with our growing times. The water supply needs to be protected in order to safeguard the drinking water and how it’s being delivered throughout California.

A water infrastructure bond should provide the funding necessary to address the following critical issues:

Infrastructure Improvements in the Delta. The Delta supplies drinking water for 25 million Californians, hundreds of thousands of businesses and 750,000 acres of farmland. The Delta, which is extremely susceptible to natural disasters, is in desperate need of improvements to ensure reliable transport of water throughout the state. If there were an earthquake, for example, it is estimated Delta water would be curtailed for two years, choking all who depend on it. Immediate action and long term improvements are needed now.

Build Additional Storage Facilities. Temperatures are predicted to rise in the coming years, reducing the state’s snow pack and water supply. We need to invest in water storage facilities now to capture water and ensure that we have available supply of safe, quality water in dry years to meet the needs of residents, businesses, agriculture and the environment.

Improve Water Quality. A clean, safe, reliable source of drinking water is a necessity of life. Already, water quality in the Central Valley has suffered because of drought conditions and overdraft of underground aquifers. Depleting supplies elsewhere in the state puts other residents at risk not to mention planning for the half a million new residents in California each year.

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