By Joy Downing Riley - Blue Water Task Force Coordinator
Our region has just entered Stage Two of drought restrictions, and oil companies are threatening our essential right to safe drinking water sourced from our local underground aquifers.
Oil companies are out of step with our state’s transition away from fossil fuels towards future, renewable resources.
Rincon Island, the man-made island off of Mussel Shoals is a relic of our carbon emitting past, is being decommissioned, along with the decommissioning of 8 other oil rigs near our coast over the next 10 years, it becomes plain that California is moving away from its dependence on oil and its pollution of our local water sources.
The October 2021 oil spill of a 25,000 gallons off of Orange County is a costly reminder that if an oil or gas well were to leak or suffer damage here in Ventura County, it will further contaminate our water with disastrous consequences
Oil and water do not mix. Access to clean water was established a human right by the State in 2012. Ventura County Surfrider Foundation has fought for that basic human right to clean water over the last 30 years.
Our Clean Water Initiative strives to protect water resources and prevent pollution from reaching the ocean. We work to protect our coastal waterways, communities, and wildlife from water pollution by focusing on two main programs. These programs are the Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) and Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG). We will continue to fight for clean water.
Let oil companies know oil and water do not mix and protect our firmly established right to have clean water.
Vote YES on Measure A and B.
For more reading:
https://www.venturariver.org/2021/02/rincon-island-decommissioning.html
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/hr2w/
