Voters will have a chance to vote on a $7.5 billion water bond proposal known as Proposition 1 in November.
On Tuesday’s Long Beach City Council meeting, Assemblyman Anthony Rendon said the bond would focus on water conservation, water recycling and storm and ground water cleanup.
The bond emphasizes regional self-reliance and accountability, Rendon said. If passed, the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 would be enacted, Rendon said.
According to the water bond summary, most of the money — $2 .7 billion — would go towards statewide water storage. According to the summary of the water bond, this would provide public benefit of reservoirs and groundwater filtration. It would also require ecosystem improvement of California deltas, according to the water bond summary.
Only $810 million would be reserved for regional water security, climate and drought preparedness, according to the water bond summary.
California has been in a state of drought emergency since Jan. 17 as declared by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to NBC and the Los Angeles Times. Californian citizens have been urged to reduce their water use by 20 percent until the drought passes according to NBC and the Los Angeles Times.
When asked about the drought, senior family life sciences major April Nhem said she feels like “people aren’t aware of how bad of a drought we are actually in.”
Nhem said her family tries to conserve water by using recycled water-to-water plants and following the “yellow-mellow” flushing rule.
Although glad to see the government “doing something about the drought,” junior mechanical engineering major Sebastian Calderon said he thinks most voters will have a problem with the “amount of money being spent.”
$520 million would be provided for clean, safe and reliable drinking water in disadvantaged communities alone, according to the water bond summary.
According to the U.S. EPA estimate, California has $20 billion invested in safe drinking water needs alone. Rendon said this bond allocates $1 billion total for drinking water.
“We need to prove to voters that every dollar is wisely spent so investment will continue to be made,” Rendon said.
Election day is Tuesday Nov. 4.