The big question now is can Cal Am get water rights for its proposed desal plant? This would not be an issue if the desal drew water from the ocean or even from under the tide line, but Cal Am plans to draw brackish water (mixed seawater and freshwater) from Marina’s groundwater... without Marina’s consent! Will this project harm Marina?  

Who can answer these questions? Ultimately, a court will have to answer them, not the CPUC or the Coastal Commission.

With a buyout of Cal Am in our future, we all need to understand the problems that Cal Am’s desal plant faces and how it would affect both the Peninsula and Marina. With so much at stake we need to insist on an alternative solution to the Peninsula’s water supply needs.

Marc Del Piero
Marc is a recognized attorney on water issues and expert witness on Water Rights Law in California. He is a former member of the State Water Resources Control Board (1992-1999), and a former adjunct professor of Water Law at Santa Clara University.

He will discuss the history and law related to groundwater rights in the overdrafted Salinas Valley Groundwater basin, which includes Marina. He will also explain the law governing appropriative water rights and how it impacts this situation.

Keith Van Der Maaten
Keith is the General Manager of Marina Coast Water District. He will explain what’s at stake for Marina. He’ll cover the Stanford AEM study that predicts harm to Marina’s water supply as a result of Cal Am’s slant wells. The CPUC refused to consider Marina’s concerns which were backed by this science, when they issued the permit to Cal Am.

This community forum is Co-sponsored by Citizens for Just Water and Public Water Now.

Please join us,

Melodie Chrislock
PWN Managing Director