Wednesday I had the opportunity to listen to retired U.S. Army Colonel and MWD CEO Jack Foley speak to engineers and land surveyors at the monthly meeting for the Orange County Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies. Foley has an amazing and long resume that is impressive even to those not usually impressed by meaningless wallpaper. Foley spoke for more than an hour focusing his attention on MWD and our water infrastructure. One of Foley's admirable traits is his plain English. He doesn't get caught up in a the absurd political correctness that I'm used to hearing at from public speakers. Instead, Foley spoke from the heart and was crystal clear and it was appreciated.
The environment was a large part of the retired colonel's sermon. Unlike most CEOs who wring their hands and are "sensitive to the issue", Foley stands his ground unabashed.
For my non-land surveyor friends, subdivision of land allows an owner of a single piece of property to carve up their land into smaller portions for lease, sale, or finance.
MWD has been exploring and planning on implementing solar farms on their vacant land as part of AB32. However, Foley believes the land would be a greater benefit to the public if MWD could subdivide it and sell the excess property. He recognizes that the current attitude is to not raise taxes and selling the property would allow MWD to put the revenue into immediate use without raising any fees or taxes. Unfortunately, with the passage and implementation of AB32, the excess land is destined for solar power generating.
Within Foley's comments there seemed to exist resentment that environmentalists had thrown in the towel of ingenuity for the sake saving the planet from ourselves.
~Quick side note and commentary~
The human race has faced a challenging environment since Man's first steps, always engineering a way to make life better. When floods washed away homes, we raised our foundations and built damns, when water was scarce, we built aqueducts. When travel was difficult, we built roads. It is our nature to create solutions, not throw in the towel and give up. Man has built great structures that protect us from our sometimes harsh environment.
However, many environmentalists have pushed public policies that would take us back more than 200 years and undo the progress that has come from industrialization. Many of the loudest green activists enjoy their iPods, iPhones, and iPads while ignoring the "carbon footprint" that it took to manufacture their and deliver their toys, much less the energy required to use them.
Just when I thought Foley was the best thing that could have ever happened to MWD, he said they need to raise rates to cover costs.
When I hear government officials say they need to raise taxes to cover costs, I have to filter the message and run it through my matrices.
Is the service being provided (water) something which I cannot provide for myself? Considering I do not have water rights on my property, the answer is NO. I must import my water.
Is there any other provider I can use? Not really. I can import small quantities of bottled drinking water but not in sufficient quantities to use for cleaning. Although, the question never crossed my mind before. As a property owner, I could purchase an above-ground potable water storage tank, purchase water from a second source and have it trucked in. Imagine if everyone began cutting off their own water service and went "off the grid". The reality is that the truck bringing water, electricity, tanks, and pumps to pressurize the water lines all adds to the expense of water consumption.
Is the provider (MWD) being responsible with the money I pay for the water I consume? Debatable. MWD needs to look at their pension obligations, salaries, excess land, facility maintenance, etc. They also need to work on alternative sources of water and make humans the priority over fish and other creatures. I realize that is a selfish position to take but considering that my life is dependent on my ability to survive, it is an appropriate position. Without water I will not survive. Therefore, save the humans!
I am not excited about taxes being raised. I think government, however you want to define that, collects plenty. We need to get our priorities in place and focus on them. Water is near the top of the list with sanitation (sewers) and waste management (garbage) close behind. Education and emergency services are on there too. But at some point there is an end to the list with something at the bottom. That is where we cut first and deepest.
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