Santa Clarita Water Division Informed on Geoengineering

The Santa Clarita Valley 2014 Water Quality Report

I had the privilege to give the opening remarks  at 6 P.M. tonight for about 15 minutes to the Santa Clarita Water Division’s (SCWD) Retail Operations Committee, that graciously allowed public comments at the beginning of their meeting.  The committee comprised ~15 thoughtful and intelligent men and women representing the Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA) and several local water companies. The working relationship is that the CLWA acts as a wholesaler to these retail water companies, such as the Valencia Water Company which sells water to my town, Valencia, one of four towns, including Canyon Country, Newhall, and Saugus, comprising the city of Santa Clarita, the third largest city in Los Angeles County that continues to grow.

After thanking the committee for their work in coordinating the water management for the city, I introduced myself as a resident of North Valencia, a homeowner, and a retired technical editor from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explaining my experience with astrophysicists, engineers, technicians to document deep space activities, and that I now write this blog to document drought issues affecting my community.

I then held up a copy of SCWD’s Santa Clarita Valley 2014 Water Quality Report, their document to the public in Portable Document Format (PDF). In particular, I addressed a detailed table, “The Results of Thousands of Tests on Your Water.” I noted that, although the water testing included Arsenic, Fluoride, and other toxic contaminants, there was apparently no testing of Aluminum, Barium, or Strontium. The document otherwise quite helpfully addresses a number of potential water health issues and includes homeowner guidelines, asking for a 20% water usage reduction. I informed them that while the EPA ceased testing for aluminum in 2008, that these toxic materials were found in unacceptable levels by some residents in Shasta County, which just last month hosted a capacity public forum principally addressing the issue of geoengineering and how is affects the health issues of that region. The Shasta County meeting was video taped and is now being used as a model for anyone who simply wants to ask that their communities investigate the potential health issues.

I finished my comments and several SCWD members asked me for contact information and gave me business cards. It was time well spent.

In conclusion, there is no small measure of controversy on the issue of geoengineering. I expect we’ll be hearing more about within the context of “anthropogenic climate change” from the Administration between now and especially mid-summer to fall 2015. Due to time constraints, I was unable to speak to the other aspects of geoengineering that affect drought, such as HAARP, but hopefully SCWD members will look into the subject and make their own discoveries.