Final blitz in Seaside for Public Water Now petition signatures - Please help
Catherine Crockett
Dear All,
There’s just a little over two weeks remaining to gather signatures to place the Public Water Now petition on the November ballot. Please lend a hand this weekend to distribute the brand new Bilingual Flyers or to collect signatures. Seaside is 42% Hispanic and all Seaside voters should have a say in this important issue. To pick up flyers and material, stop by the Center for Change, 1238 Fremont in Seaside, on Saturday from 10am to noon or 1pm to 5pm. Or stop by Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Read Sustainable Seaside’s public endorsement of this petition in the March 9th issue of the Monterey Herald: tinyurl.com/SusSea-endorses-PWN-petition.
PWN now needs your help:
· Collecting signatures,
· Handing out flyers at one of three markets: Santa Fe, Mi Tierra and Chiquita, or
· Walking the business district and hand out flyers to stores.
Sign Up in advance here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BPM6zxxRHpWfvms7aUO4iBpKJyk8QQPPQ2YzpaoNfqc/edit?ts=5aa83b56#gid=0 or just show up.
Download the flyer here: https://tinyurl.com/PWN-Spanish-English-flyer-3-18)
Public Water Now Office Hours:
Monterey: 1340 Munras Ave., Monterey, across from Del Monte Center
Office hours - Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from noon to 3pm.
Seaside: Center for Change, 1238 Fremont, Seaside
Thursday from 3pm to 6pm
Stop by to pick up the new bilingual flyers, yard signs, bumper stickers and T-shirts.
PWN Talking points. Please stay on message.
• We have the most expensive water in the U.S. according to Food & Water Watch. Read more: http://www.publicwaternow.org/most_expensive_water
• Cal Am is owned by American Water in New Jersey (NOT a German Company). American Water also owns six of the top ten most expensive water systems in the U.S. Our water costs will only go up with Cal Am!
• Cal Am has charged us $64 million for water we didn’t use due to conservation.
• 87% of the people in the U.S get their water from public water systems. Across the country privately owned water costs 59% more on average than publicly owned water.
• The PWN initiative if passed would require a feasibility study within 90 days to get the facts. This study would be done by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. If it is found to be financially feasible and in the public interest MPWMD would proceed to purchase Cal Am’s Monterey Peninsula system.
• Cal Am has NOT created any new water sources since they were ordered to stop over-drafting the Carmel River in 1995. Their desal project faces obstacles because Cal Am does NOT have water rights to the brackish ground water they want to use to feed their desal plant. Litigation by at least two agencies is highly likely.
• The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) would be the new owner in a public buy out of Cal Am. MPWMD was created to find new water supplies and promote conservation, reclamation and reuse of water. They are well positioned to oversee and manage our water system. MPWMD has created 5 sources of new water since 1995.
• Cal Am takes $19 million in corporate profit and taxes out of our community annually. This money would be used to finance the bond to buy Cal Am. No property taxes would be involved.
• 50 cents on every dollar Cal Am collects leaves our community. Local public ownership would bring those dollars home and create new local jobs.
Best wishes,
Catherine Crockett
Sustainable Seaside Chair
sustainab...@gmail.com