How dry I am

I have to hope that you’re not getting your news from my blog (especially given the frequency with which I post) but I wanted to make sure that this piece of news didn’t slip by. The California State Department of Water Resources has announced that 2009 allocations for the State Water Project, of which the SCVWD is a contractor, will be 15% of “normal.” This is an initial allocation, of course, that depends on winter conditions. Last year’s initial allocation was 25%, and rose to 35% after the winter rains. The last time initial allocations were lower was in 1993, when they started off at 10%, but rose to 100% after a good winter. Hope for a good winter.

In other news, the SCVWD board on Tuesday voted 4-3 to raise their salaries by 10%. This sounds like a princely sum, until you read that this brings them up to $260 per meeting. Chair Kamai and Director Sanchez cast two of the no votes, the Mercury story doesn’t say who the third was, but I’d expect it was Director Wilson. Director Sanchez is going to decline the raise, as he has been doing.

Director Kwok voted for the raise this year, changing his tack from last year, saying that higher pay would help bring in new blood. I’m afraid that an extra $23 a meeting isn’t going to do it. To get a real change in the quality of board members would take county supervisor-level salaries. But to get public acceptance of those, the board would also need to accept term limits.