HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES NO 83-74RESOLUTION NO. 83-74
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF BAKERSFIELD OPPOSING PROPOSITION 17--
THE STANISLAUS RIVER INITIATIVE.
WHEREAS, a small group of white water enthusiasts calling
themselves "Friends of the River" have spearheaded an initiative
circulating campaign which has resulted in the inclusion of Proposi-
tion 17 on the ballot at the November general election; and
WHEREAS, Proposition 17, if adopted, would place two
portions of the Stanislaus River within the California Wild and
Scenic River Act and would seriously cloud the future of the ongoing
and urgently needed New Melones Dam Project; and
WHEREAS, construction of the New Melones Dam is presently
underway with the diversion tunnel and related structures already
in place, and expenditures approaching eighty million dollars
having already been made; and
WHEREAS, the dam would provide urgently needed flood pro-
tection to areas of the lower Stanislaus River basin, the San Joaquin
River basin, and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta which areas have
suffered many millions of dollars in damages due to floods over the
years; and
WHEREAS, in stark contrast to the 80,000 visitor days which
the Stanislaus River is capable of supporting annually for recrea-
tion should that much demand build up, the New Melones Reservoir
and related recreational facilities to be created along a 55-mile
stretch of the lower river would provide recreational opportunities
totaling four (4) million visitor days annually by creating public
access for fishing, boating, camping, picnicking, canoeing, kayaking
and rafting in areas which are now privately owned and inaccessible
to the public; and
WHEREAS, releases of stored water from behind the dam
will be used to improve the severely deteriorated water quality
in the lower Stanislaus River and its distributary system, including
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and will significantly assist in
restoring King Salmon runs which have recently dwindled from his-
toric runs of close to 150,000 fish to just slightly more than 1,000
fish annually; and
WHEREAS, New Melones Dam will have the capability of
saving over 700,000 barrels of crude oil annually by generating
enough clean, pollution-free hydroelectric energy to supply all of
the needs of a city twice the size of Berkeley, California; and
WHEREAS, the water conservation yield of New Melones Dam
could be put to full use in, and is badly needed by, numerous water
agencies throughout the Counties of Calaveras, Tuolumne, Stanislaus,
and San Joaquin; and
WHEREAS, this Council firmly believes that a well-informed
electorate will soundly defeat Proposition 17 provided that suffi-
cient effort is made to present the true facts regarding the
Stanislaus River to the voters,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City
of Bakersfield that its members hereby formally declare their
opposition to Proposition 17; and be it further
RESOLVED, that this Council urges its citizens and all
other citizens of the State of California to vote "NO" on Proposi-
tion 17; and be it further
RESOLVED, that this Council hereby calls upon all other
responsible and concerned public agencies within the State of
California to formally declare their opposition to Proposition 17;
and be it further
RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution be transmitted
to the Association of California Water Agencies, the California
Water Agencies, the California Water Resources Association, and
Californians Against Proposition 17.
o0o
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was passed
and adopted by the Council of the City of Bakersfield at a regular
meeting thereof held on the 28th day of October, 1974, by the
following vote:
AYES: COUNCU.MEN ~, BLEECKER, HBISEY, MEDDERS, ROGERS, STRONG, THOMAS
NOES: COtJNCIL/,~'E:'~:
CITY C~'RK~nd Ex ficio Clerk of
Council of the Cit~ersfield
the
1974
APPROVED as to form: