September 20, 2005

City of Fresno Commended for Joining Other Valley Communities In Expressing Concern About Threats to Water Supply

(Fresno, California): Recognizing more than 60,000 acre feet of their municipal water supply is threatened by recent U.S. District Court rulings, the Fresno City Council passed a resolution acknowledging its efforts to protect the city’s water supply and the San Joaquin Valley’s economic well-being at its meeting on Tuesday, September 20, 2005.

“We appreciate the efforts of Fresno City Council President Mike Dages, Mayor Alan Autry and the entire Fresno City Council, to pass a resolution of support to protect our San Joaquin River water supplies in the Central Valley,” said Dale Brogan, Valley Water Alliance (VWA) secretary/treasurer. “We know the economic well-being of the City of Fresno and countless other communities from Merced to Kern counties will be impacted if there are radical shifts in our water supplies and we must work together to make sure our social, cultural and economic concerns are addressed.”

The Fresno City Council joins more than 22 counties, cities and organizations throughout the Central Valley that have already passed resolutions of support for the Valley Water Alliance’s efforts to protect San Joaquin River water supplies and the cities and counties who rely upon those supplies for their survival. The counties of Kern, Kings, Merced, Madera and Tulare have passed similar resolutions, as have the communities of Lindsay, Shafter, Delano, Tulare, Visalia, Lemoore and Bakersfield to name just a few. Many other valley cities have resolutions scheduled to be heard at their meetings over the next few weeks.

Litigation focusing on restoring portions of the San Joaquin River with water from Friant Dam, which valley communities have relied upon for more than a half-century, is the contributing factor to those concerns raised by the City of Fresno in its resolution. The Valley Water Alliance is working with the Friant water community and the businesses, municipal, agricultural and resource interests impacted by the decision in the hopes of finding a solution which provides a secure and reliable water supply benefiting all interests in the Valley.

“We would also like to commend the efforts of Governor Schwarzenegger and his administration for recognizing the Valley is a region rich in resources and making his recent commitment to find regional solutions to our issues such as water supply reliability. An effort which led to the basis for the City of Fresno’s passage of a resolution of support,” Brogan continued.

A non-profit organization, the VWA board of directors is committed to making sure the economic impacts of any restoration strategy are taken into consideration. The board of directors includes elected officials, business owners, and labor interests from Merced to Kern Counties who recognize our water is our future. A partial list of board members include representatives from each board of supervisors from the counties of Kern, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, and Merced, Mayor of Fresno Alan Autry, Mayor of Lindsay Ed Murray, Mayor of Orange Cove Victor Lopez, Councilman David Couch from City of Bakersfield, Richard Kuckenbecker of Kuckenbecker Farm Equipment, Randy Ghan from the Fresno-Kings Counties Central Labor Council, Larry Mapes of Farm Credit West, Bob Keenan of Building Industry Assoc. of Tulare/Kings, Chuck Waite from the Central Labor Council of Kern-Inyo-Mono Counties, Tim Razzari of Razzari Ford, Fred Ruiz of Ruiz Foods, Lionel Pires of TF Tires & Service and Robert Silva of Silva Ford.