Contra Costa Canal Transfer Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mark DeSaulnier for introducing this bill.

This legislation will allow the Contra Costa Water District to assume control over the Contra Costa Canal. It will make important safety improvements by enclosing the waterway to protect against accidental drownings. As Mr. Gianforte indicated, there have been 81 drownings.

Now, if you look at the canals: It is a hot day. They look refreshing. It looks safe. It is not. It is very, very dangerous. Even the best swimmers can drown in those conditions.

It will also improve both the water supply and the land around the canal for recreational use. Additionally, it will upgrade the fish screening equipment to better protect endangered species.

Title transfers such as this will reduce the backlog for repairing and upgrading infrastructure and may reduce duplicative Federal approvals. These type of water projects are the kind of pragmatic policymaking that we should be focusing on on a bipartisan basis.

This bill is one of many pieces of legislation that is necessary to maintain the health of the California delta, which supports the livelihoods of farmers, businesses, and families in my district.

Above all, we need policies that focus on water efficiency and resilience. This program will increase the resilience of the canals. This is forward-thinking legislation that concentrates on mitigating increasing damage from climate change.

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