Guest Commentary - If water is the new gold how much will we pay, are the sources sustainable?

By Lynn Wheat | 

The City of Elk Grove estimates that its population will reach 201,197 by 2036.

When we turn on our faucets, we expect the water to flow freely, and to have enough for what we want and need. This could change in the very near future. The Elk Grove City Council has a ‘thirst’ for expanding city boundaries southward, while encouraging Bay area residents to relocate to our city and investing in a new home here.

One Elk Grove City Councilmember once stated, “Water is the new gold.” 

Indeed, if we look at water as a limited resource, and at the increased costs we all pay for our water, while conserving as much as possible, it is the new gold. There exists a plan for the new gold.

As one of the taxpayers who will support the new gold water plan, I want to know and understand the new gold I am buying. For over a year, I have been attending the Sacramento Central Groundwater Authority monthly meetings to learn about how our City’s water purveyors and elected representatives are addressing the issue of water in our region when it comes to developing a groundwater sustainability plan.  

I have addressed and urged the Sacramento Groundwater Authority to extend public outreach. I feel the information released to residents should be presented in a way that is easily understood. It is right for taxpayers and area residents to be part of a process we are paying for and which we will be living with for the foreseeable future.  

Our groundwater sustainability plan will determine the quality of life for all of us. We may feel as if we have enough water and that the cost of water is not so bad. The picture for the future will look very differently when water is the new gold.  

Will it become priceless? How much is too much to pay? Will you have water when you turn on your faucet?  

The Groundwater Sustainability Plan is the determining factor. I want to be a resident who turns on my faucet and has water that I can afford. How about you? 

Get involved - protect your precious water supply! Attend the SASb online meetings starting on July 23.  

Note: The  South American Subbasin (SASb) is our primary source of water.  

Copyright by Lynn Wheat © 2020. All right reserved.