CLOVIS (KMJ) — Clovis City Council has decided to collectively oppose a State Assembly bill, which would bring two water projects to the valley, due to funding concerns. The council voted four votes to one Monday night to reject Assembly Bill 935, and won’t reconsider their ruling unless the source of the money to pay for it is established.
The City of Clovis has made it clear that it doesn’t oppose Rudy Salas’ proposal for the two water projects, but that the decision is down to the bill not specifying where the support for them will come from.
Of the two projects outlined, one is for reverse flow pump-back facilities on the Friant-Kern canal restoration, the other is to pay for the San Joaquin River recapture at Patterson Irrigation District.
“Our concern with that is that they said ‘these two projects must move forward’, they don’t say it’s going to come from Prop 1 but they don’t say it’s not going to come from Prop 1”, says Clovis’ Director of Public Utilities Luke Serpa. “So where’s the money going to come from?”
“These are the same comments that all of our integrated regional water management partners made last year was that ‘hey where’s this money going to come from?’ And they’ve been a bit cagey on that”.
Serpa was behind the original request to oppose the bill, and adds that the members’ fear is that projects already outlined will be cannibalized in order to pay for those on Assembly Bill 935.
“Regardless of how they’ve been competitively ranked, and how they affect the region and different partners in the region”.
Serpa adds that the solution should be for the state’s legislature to identify the source of funding.
KMJ News did reach out to Rudy Salas’ team for comment, but we are yet to receive a response.
