January 15, 2014
Happy New Year! And now let’s get down to business. Where do we go from here? 2013 was probably our busiest year ever. In preparation for our Coastal Commission hearing in November, R4 walked literally thousands of pieces of information to our neighbors. We held information nights in your home. Your generous donations enable us to send thousands more pieces of mail to reach ALL of our members at one time to keep you informed of our progress. Trusting us with your email addresses was huge and we need you to keep us up to date with this information. An email is a much cheaper way to reach you than something from the post office. However, those 4,000 cards sent by members to the Coastal Commission looked darned good. The Town Hall meeting in November at Eader was filled with you and your friends and neighbors. It worked!! We came away with a victory at the Coastal Commission meeting held in Newport Beach. You need to understand though… we didn’t get the WHOLE enchilada! Poseidon was NOT given their Coastal Permit however they WERE granted a “continuance”, time for them to continue their “studies” of how to comply with Coastal Commission regulations in order to once again apply for their permit and build the desalination plant. Yes… I know. Poseidon has had 7 years since their first application to “study” the problems of locating this plant in Huntington Beach. I am as frustrated with the continuance as you are but… we DIDN’T LOSE! It does mean that we have to keep up our efforts and meet Poseidon and it’s cadre of “blue suits” once again in 2014. We can DO THAT RIGHT?
What we all need to keep in mind is that NOTHING has changed! You are going to be reading more and more about water shortages and drought. This type of propaganda is akin to terrorism of the public by playing on their fears of not finding water when they turn on the tap. It is being facilitated and fed by ineptly operated and greedy water agencies and water profiteers like Poseidon Resources. There IS enough water. There ISN’T good water management. All the water we need IS available through reclamation, recycling and conservation. These are the tried and true alternatives to ocean desalination and at 1/3rd the cost. The next time you hear or read about water shortage keep in mind one thing: The city of Los Angeles has not purchased more water in 20 years! 20 years of multiple dry seasons and millions of new people. Los Angeles emphasizes strict conservation rules and fines abusers. Can we do the same? Of course! Also remember California’s weather conditions and patterns have always fluctuated. Last winter was WET. Our State has an ocean as one of its borders. Oceans are living things. Their currents and winds are NOT static. They are always changing and they always will. Meteorologists have a tough time predicting weather for a week much less years into the future.
Poseidon is STILL bent on tearing up our streets and neighborhoods for its worthless project. Unable to find cities to buy its super expensive water in South Orange County it has turned its evil eye to the Orange County Water District and the cities of Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Seal Beach, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. WE are the targets. And the Orange County Water District, led by our own representative, Cathy Green, and Shawn Dewane of Costa Mesa, are fully supporting Poseidon’s efforts.
Folks, the year 2014 is also an election year. Only by replacing greedy, self-serving politicos with people who truly represent you and me, are we EVER going to change the politics of water. The directors of the Orange County Water District, as of a Grand Jury report done in 2011, make $35,008 annually for serving on this Board. We pay into their retirement funds and pay their insurance premiums. Do they serve you? Are they watching out for your better interests or are they listening to water profiteers that wine dine and contribute to their election PAC’s? Do you even really know who they are and what their water philosophy is? We cannot afford to be ignorant of our candidates any longer. We have a chance this year to make a difference in the make-up of the OCWD and even our own City Council.
Make a pledge to NEVER AGAIN leave a blank space on your ballot or simply put an “X” in a box for a person YOU DON’T KNOW!! Our neighborhood existence, our quality of life is dependent on the people we vote for. BE CAREFUL!
Merle Moshiri, President
Residents for Responsible Desalination