The Bay Planning Coalition supports the efforts of the No of F – Save Hetch Hetchy campaign. Ballot measure F, the “Water Sustainability and Environmental Restoration Planning Act of 2012,” proposes that San Franciscans vote in November 2012 to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to develop a plan to destroy the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir- even though this idea has already been studied at least 7 times, at great expense, over the last 30 years.
The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir supplies water to 2.6 million people in over 30 cities and generates 1.6 billion kilowatts of clean, hydroelectric energy, powering many of our municipal services.
Actually carrying out the destruction of the Hetch Hetchy reservoir could cost taxpayers $3-$10 billion, and seriously jeopardize many people’s access to clean, reliable water and power, as well as destroying jobs and endangering downstream ecosystems.
Save Hetch Hetchy estimates that, without this high-quality water source, affected citizens could see annual water bills increase $700-$2,700, and face frequent shortages. The proposition does not suggest any reasonable sources of water to replace the 85% of our drinking water that Hetch Hetchy currently stores.
We support the efforts of the Save Hetch Hetchy campaign, which advocates the use of the millions of dollars that would be spent on this redundant study to instead be put toward the many other improvements and services our community needs.
Hetch Hetchy is a precious and valuable resource that needs to be preserved for the benefit of the Bay Area.
BPC joins dozens of elected officials, including San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, dozens of business and community leaders, and thousands of San Francisco citizens in saying No on F.
