NEWS ALERT SERVICE!

Water-Related Election Results

The greatest impact of the November 5, 2002 election on drinking water quality issues lies with the dramatic changes in officeholders at the national, state and local levels......but the effects will be subtle, gradual and somewhat unpredictable. Key Senate committees that deal with drinking water issues will see new Republican chairs, and the President's Homeland Security legislation will get a boost.  A huge California water bond measure passed and there were mixed results from the coast-to-coast votes on drinking water fluoridation.

• Small Republican gains in the Senate bring big leadership changes; impact on water quality issues unclear

California

• $3.4 BILLION Prop. 50 bond measure approved  (Chico Enterprise Record, November 7) Large utilities will seek funding assistance (LA Daily News, November 7)
  Commentary: CA voters added to their huge bonded indebtedness by approving this issue which covers a broad range of environmental and water measures.  Several components relate directly to drinking water quality issues including: Over $100 million to provide the State's 20% match for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund projects, $50 million for water security assistance, $50 million (or more) for desalination projects and up to $50 million for "pilot and demonstration projects" to address MTBE, NDMA, perchlorate, arsenic, DBPs, pharmaceuticals, etc. The largest allocations will go for CalFed and Colorado River-related mitigation issues.
• San Francisco voters say YES to $1.6 Billion Hetch Hetchy improvement program (San Francisco Chronicle, November 6)  
• Monterey area voters say "Dissolve the local water management district" (Monterey Herald, November 6)
  Commentary:  This option was not available to persons voting on the many positions held by politicians!

Colorado

• Water conservation district's bond measure to address West Slope drought problems rebuffed by voters

Florida

• Tarpon Springs water improvements given strong approval by residents (St. Petersburg Times, November 6)

Michigan

• State clean water measure passes; $1 billion in wastewater SRF (Click on Detroit, November 6)

Missouri

• Seven towns in 3 counties give strong endorsement for drinking water system improvements and consolidations (St. Joseph News-Press, November 6)

Votes on fluoridation

    YES!

• Oregon: Beaverton (Oregonian, November 6)
• Maine: Kennebunk area (Journal Tribune, November 6)

    NO!

• Arkansas: Texarkana (NewsChannel6, November 6)
• Montana: Billings (Billings Gazette, November 6) and Kalispell, Montana (Daily Inter Lake, November 6) where the dentist-supporters are disappointed (Daily Inter Lake, November 7)
• Nevada: Washoe County (Reno) (Reno Gazette-Journal, November 5)

• California: Redding (Redding Record-Searchlight, November 6) where the debate will continue (Redding Record-Searchlight, November 7)  and  Watsonville (Santa Cruz Sentinel, November 6) where the margin is only 32 votes (Register-Pajaronian, November 7)
  Commentary:  The five votes in states not named California were pretty clear, up or down referendums on the issue.  But in the two California cities, the measure voted on was anything but clear.  A "yes" vote meant "no" on fluoridation.  The measures were sponsored by anti-fluoridation groups and did not address fluoride directly. The measures were written to prohibit adding a chemical to the drinking water that is not approved by the FDA, which has no involvement in, or authority over, drinking water.  What happens next is not completely clear, but will likely be decided by legal opinions on what takes precedence: state law or a local measure.

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