Supervisor Horn calls for action on state water crisis

SAN DIEGO — San Diego North County Supervisor Bill Horn issued the following statement October 8 urging the state legislature to reach agreement on solving the state water crisis:

“The lifeblood of our State is water and it is time to put the needs of millions of people who depend on a reliable supply of water for food, jobs, and the future of California before political and environmental special interests. For years I have called for the construction of infrastructure to bring water from the north to Southern California.

“As a farmer, I know for certain that we are at a crossroads in the State’s history. Do we bring water from the Bay-Delta and at the same time practice responsible conservation or do we turn off the tap and abandon thousands of farmers and generations of families who have worked the land to make our State the breadbasket of the nation and the world?

“With unemployment in the Central Valley up to 40% because fields are fallow and new businesses in Southern California unable to open for fear of not getting water permits, the entire State is in peril. I applaud Governor Schwarzenegger’s tough stand on demanding action from the legislature.

“If State leaders cannot come to agreement on California’s water system, I fear our entire economy is on its way to going belly-up, while at the same time, a two-inch fish, given protective status out of fear it might be trapped in pipes, will swim in water that should be irrigating our crops.”

Supervisor Horn represents the Fifth District of San Diego County.