Jeff Gutierrez: Taylor Blakeslee from Hallmark Group
Rob Noriega: Brett Stroud from Young Wooldridge
Good New & Announcements:
Mike Chertok announced that the Assistance League of Bakersfield would hold a barbecue on Thursday, May 10 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., $10 per person. Monies raised go for clothing needy children.
Rob Noriega announced that Young Wooldridge added Mark Bateman to the firm.
Dave Morton announced that Al Patel had invited some Rotarians to discuss the Rotary India project and they'd had a highly successful presentation in front of a large audience.
Jim Baldwin thanked all the Rotarians who had served as waiters at the administrative assistance lunch at BARC.
Garro Ellis confessed that to make up to Jim Damian for the lost time at the previous club meeting, he'd given Jim time on the Moneywise show.
Steve Illingworth announced that Urners had been voted best appliance store for the 24th year and the Z's Please store was voted the best mattress store.
Program: Jim Beck, Hallmark Group
Jim Beck, former manager of the Kern County Water Agency and now a principal with the Hallmark Group discussed two critical water issues: The Sustainable Groundwater Maangement Act (SGMA) and the California Water Fix.
Beck said nothing in the history of the state of California would impact the use and management of groundwater than SGMA. In its 20-year implementation phase, local water leaders have to find a way to manage the sustainability of the groundwater basin so that they are not extracting more than they are saving. If not, the state will come in and manage it. Beck discussed how local leaders are working to implement this process through forming Groundwater Sustainability Agencies. He also noted that declining surface water supplies make groundwater even more important.
Beck also discussed the California Water Fix, a $17.1 billion project to move water from Northern Californium to central and southern California in a one or two tunnel project. Kern County would pay some ten percent of the cost of that project, at $1.7 billion. Hallmark is the project manager for the California Water Fix and Beck said almost 122,000 jobs would be generated over the next ten years for construction of the tunnels. He said the main impetus for the project is to protect the sensitive Delta region so that endangered species, mainly the Delta smelt, are not impacted by pumping water south. If the project is built, local agricultural water customers who receive water from the state will see their water costs double (approximately) and residents in the city who receive water from Improvement District No. 4 will see a $5-10 increase in their annual bill. Currently, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has committed to fund 83 percent of the construction of the CA Water Fix.
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