Who Needs Water?

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For five years, business, environmental and state organizations have collaborated on regulations to protect water levels in our rivers and streams in a way that’s good for all of Connecticut, over the long run.  Now lobbyists who oppose any cohesive approach to managing our rivers have introduced a bill that would force the five-year streamflow regulation process to start all over. 

If you’ve ever thought that Connecticut just can’t get out of its own way to get anything worthwhile accomplished, this kind of self-serving, anti-collaborative behavior explains why that is too often the case.

Bill 1020, An Act Concerning Water Resources and Economic Development, was discussed in a public hearing of the legislature's Commerce Committee on February 25 (testimony here). In applying a simplistic, one-factor analysis (today’s costs), the Commerce Committee appears to be leaning toward keeping the bill alive by voting it out of committee.

Water companies, which profit by selling us water, want to keep reservoir levels up by preventing the release of water downstream.  Problem is, fish and other aquatic life don’t survive when streams dry out or run low, impacting the rivers they feed into – as well as the tourism and recreational sectors that rely on water. Add some drought to all the other residential and industrial demands for water, and of course rivers and streams take a hit.  If you want to talk economics, let’s be sure to consider the economic costs of failing to manage our waterways.

Water is a resource that’s pretty essential to life as we know it.  You can weigh in.  Take action today to protect Connecticut’s rivers and streams.

Call or email the Commerce Committee to say you want five years of science-based, multi-stakeholder collaboration on streamflow regulations to wrap up now, not start over.

Tell the Commerce Committee you want five years of science-based, multi-stakeholder collaboration on streamflow regulations to wrap up now, not start over:  Reject HB 1020 and let the streamflow regulation process continue to completion this session. 

 

Commerce Committee :  860-240-0380

Dist.	Title	First name	Last name	Capitol phone	Email
19	Rep.	Brian	Becker	860-240-8585	Brian.Becker@cga.ct.gov
73	Rep.	Jeffrey	Berger	860-240-8585	Jeffrey.Berger@cga.ct.gov
151	Rep.	Fred	Camillo	860-240-8700	Fred.Camillo@housegop.ct.gov
47	Rep.	Christopher	Coutu	860-240-8700	Christopher.Coutu@housegop.ct.gov
17	Sen.	Joseph	Crisco	860-240-0189	http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/Crisco-mailform.html
71	Rep.	Anthony	D'Amelio	860-240-8700	Anthony.DAmelio@housegop.ct.gov
36	Sen.	L. Scott	Frantz	860-240-8800	Scott.Frantz@cga.ct.gov
104	Rep.	Linda	Gentile	860-240-0553	Linda.Gentile@cga.ct.gov
54	Rep.	Gregory	Haddad	860-240-8585	Gregory.Haddad@cga.ct.gov
37	Rep.	Ed	Jutila	860-240-8585	Ed.Jutila@cga.ct.gov
21	Sen.	Kevin	Kelly	860-240-8800	Kevin.Kelly@cga.ct.gov
3	Sen.	Gary	LeBeau	860-240-0511	http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/LeBeau-mailform.html
74	Rep.	Selim	Noujaim	860-240-8700	Selim.Noujaim@housegop.ct.gov
61	Rep.	Elaine	O'Brien	860-240-8585	Elaine.OBrien@cga.ct.gov
137	Rep.	Chris	Perone	860-240-8585	Chris.Perone@cga.ct.gov
130	Rep.	Ezequiel	Santiago	860-240-0544	Ezequiel.Santiago@cga.ct.gov
68	Rep.	Sean	Williams	860-240-8700	Sean.Williams@housegop.ct.gov
81	Rep.	Bruce	Zalaski	860-240-8585	Zeke.Zalaski@cga.ct.gov