It’s about democracy. The citizens should be informed and make decisions about how to protect the environment for posterity. The environment is a shared resource; the watersheds support all activities in our County, and most of all, supply homes with clean reliable water. We should not surrender the right to decide on our future to wealthy corporations and global conglomerates, who do not share the same interest and risks as the citizens do.
When corporations destroy hillsides and watersheds, the land erodes into our water supply and into our rivers. The reservoirs silt up: the pumps fail; the river needs to be dredged just one year after it was dredged. Who pays for that? The citizens of Napa County The developers increase the value of their holdings and increase their profits, while the citizens are left with less water, poor quality water, and the cost of cleaning up the mess. The citizens should decide; after all, we are going to pay for it.
As individuals, we depend on reliable clean water. We trust that the water will be there. Assuring sustainable watersheds aids in assuring the dependability of that clean water. As we go into an era of climate change which is expected to be warmer and drier for our area, we need to think about protecting the watersheds and not destroying them. Deforestation will only make the effects of climate change worse.
Remember in the last drought when we were all good citizens and conserved water? That resulted in a rate hike. Count on that happening again as the water supply becomes less reliable due to clear-cutting and demand increases as wineries grow in number and production volume.