Riverside-Corona Feeder Water Supply Act

Floor Speech

RIVERSIDE-CORONA FEEDER WATER SUPPLY ACT -- (House of Representatives - June 05, 2007)

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, the Riverside-Corona Feeder Water Supply Act represents an important investment in the water infrastructure in western Riverside County, California, one of the fastest-growing regions in this country.

At a time when water demand continues to grow due to the West's increasing population, traditional water sources have been confronted by a prolonged drought and other environmental challenges. In fact, just last week California water officials turned off the huge pumps that send water to Southern California from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect a tiny imperiled fish. While the shutdown is only scheduled to last a week or two, it is a stark reminder that Southern California must continue to reduce its dependence on imported water from the Delta and the Colorado River.

The Western Municipal Water District provides water service to western Riverside County and serves a population of more than 600,000 people. The purpose of the Riverside-Corona Feeder water supply project is to capture and store water in wet years in order to increase Western's firm water supplies, provide a cost-effective water supply, and improve water quality.

New wet year water will come from local runoff, including regulated releases from Seven Oaks Dam and the State Water Project and stored in San Bernardino groundwater basins. To deliver the stored water to consumers in Western's service area, the project will provide for new groundwater pumping and pipeline capability. As an additional benefit, the Riverside-Corona Feeder will provide the means to control water tables, thereby reducing liquefaction dangers in the Colton and San Bernardino communities. Additionally, the project improves local water quality as perchlorate and other contaminants would be removed from the basin when water is extracted from the well heads via the Riverside-Corona Feeder.

I applaud Western and our local elected officials in Western Riverside County for taking bold, proactive steps in meeting our region's current and future water demand. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the leadership of Western's General Manager, John Rossi, as well as the Western board members, Charles Field, Tom Evans, Brenda Dennstedt, Don Galleano, and Al Lopez. I also want to thank my good friend Grace Napolitano, the chairwoman of the Water and Power Subcommittee, for her leadership and support of my legislation.

I think it is crucial that we recognize and assist communities that are working to reduce their reliance on imported water, and I urge all of my colleagues to support the Riverside-Corona Feeder Water Supply Act.

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