FRESNO (KMJ) — A ballot initiative which would redirect money from the bullet train project and put it towards water storage is being proposed to the people of California.
The plan is to re-route the approximately $8 billion in bond money identified for the high speed rail project, and put it towards bolstering the water supply.
“What we’re saying is taking the un-issued bond funding, this is funding that was set aside for High Speed Rail that hasn’t been issued because High Speed Rail quite frankly hasn’t fulfilled its promises”, says Executive Director of the California Water Alliance Aubrey Bettencourt.
“The funding is sitting there, and we’re saying ‘you want to build rail fine’, but that’s not the priority right now”.
She says the bullet train project isn’t what was sold to us, and the water supply is in desperate need of attention.
The aim is to get to the initiative on the November 2016 ballot for the people to decide upon. It’s already been submitted to the Attorney General’s office.
She says the priority of the state should be water storage, and the ballot also wants to change the constitution to reflect just that.
“Taking what’s already in the California water code, and putting it into the constitution”.
“Saying ‘we the people of California more definitely put on the books that the reasonable and beneficial use and definition of reasonable and beneficial use of water in California is for the health and human safety, for irrigated agriculture, and then for whatever use after that”.
KMJ News reached out to the high speed rail authority for their response to the proposal, but they said they weren’t responding at this time.
