League of Women Voters plans event Tuesday to discuss concerns, processes

Benicians need to know more about their water sources, Gayle Vaughan said.

As director of the League of Women Voters Benicia, Vaughan decided to organize a forum that will give residents insight about not only their water sources but also how water is processed and what it costs.

To speak at the Aug. 18 forum, the LWV has recruited such speakers as Steve Chappell, executive director of the Suisun Resource Conservation District; Andy Florendo, Solano County Water Agency’s conservation coordinator; and Scott Rovanpera, superintendent of the Benicia Water Treatment Plant.

Chappell will describe the several sources of California’s water, such as the Shasta Dam, the Sacramento River and the Oroville Dam. From those sources, water eventually flows into the same system, Vaughan said.

She said California’s water distribution laws are complicated because portions of the supply are controlled at a federal level, and others are managed by the state or other agencies.

“He’ll talk about that, and how the water flows. He’ll give a general hydro-geology lesson of how water flows in California,” she said of Chappell.

He also will speak about Suisun Marsh, because his district manages privately owned land within the marsh, Vaughan said.

Florendo will talk about his agency and explain water transfers, an important source for Benicia water. “Benicia’s primary source of water is the Central Valley Project,” through the State Water Project, Vaughan said.

The California Department of Water Resources decides how much of a contractor’s reserved water will be allocated each year.

Benicia normally counts on the State Water Project for at least 70 percent of its drinking water, and had to spend $900,000 on additional purchases last year when the Department of Water Resources decided that contractors initially would get 5 percent of their contract, then none, and eventually 5 percent again last fall.

“(Florendo) says Benicia doesn’t have a water source of its own. It’s all transfers,” Vaughan said.

Rovanpera will talk not only about the sources of Benicia’s water, he’ll also explain how that water is treated and how costs differ depending on how water from the different sources is processed.

While the League of Women Voters normally is associated with informing voters in an unbiased way about candidates or explaining ballot measures, Vaughan said water is an issue the LWV felt compelled to explain.

“My hope is that the people who learn something will tell someone else what they learned,” she said. “That is how knowledge spreads.”

From there, she hopes residents take a greater interest in the issue and become more involved, attending hearings or making inquiries.

“The League of Women Voters is unbiased,” Vaughan said, so the organization won’t be advocating about water other than to encourage voters to cast their ballots on water issues, much the same as they would urge voters to go to the polls during any election.

She said in the future, residents may get to weigh in on legislation or cast votes about water.

“Our (responsibility) is to get people to vote and to be educated about where water comes from, where it flows, how conservation methods are working, to know how you personally fit within the water system,” she said.

She said the evening won’t be spent talking about the drought. Instead, it will be focused on water, what it is, where it comes from and who controls it, she said.

“I’m starting small, keeping it local,” she said.

The League of Women Voters Benicia Water Education Forum will start at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, in the Doña Benicia Room of Benicia Public Library, 150 East L St. Admission is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be available.