| All candidates are in alphabetical order |
Water Policy |
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| Amy E Anderson | Gary D. Hoffmann | |
| Do you support expansion of Pure Water Monterey advanced recycling plant as an alternative to Cal-Am's desalination plan? Why or why not? | Yes. This award-winning plant fulfills two major mandates of the State of CA. One is the reduction of single-use water, the other is the reduction of greenhouse gas production. The PWM plant fulfills both these critical state priorities. The PWM recycling plant will not have a significant negative environmental impact. In terms of greenhouse gases, it will produce about 34 metric tons/year of CO2, vs. 8000 metric tons/year for the desal plant. Also, PWM will be utilizing the methane - a significant greenhouse gas - from the County Landfill to power the recycling facility. The proposed desal plant is much too large for our needs, and the cost of desal water at $6094 per acre foot (AF) would be about three times that of recycled water at $2700 af. In addition, operating a desal plant at less than full capacity (because it is too large) substantially increases the cost of desal produced. The desal plant could threaten Marina's coastal dunes by lowering the level of groundwater beneath vernal pools and wetlands, endangering these important habitats. There is no place in the world where experimental slant wells are in use today. Reliance on this unproven, expensive technology is unacceptable. |
I support maximizing the use of recycled water, but do not support the premise that PWM Expansion is an alternative to desalination. M1 Water's Supplemental EIR for the PWM Expansion acknowledged that the project is not intended to replace Cal Am's desalination plant. PWM expansion would not provide sufficient additional water supply to reliably meet the long term water needs for Carmel Valley and the Monterey Peninsula communities to lift the SWRCB the Cease and Desist Order, or allow for an expanded the groundwater injection program to reverse the over draft condition of the Seaside Basin groundwater aquifer. Therefore, an appropriately sized desalination plant is a critical component of an overall Monterey Peninsula water supply portfolio that provides a reliable long term water supply, reverses the over drafting of the Seaside Basin ground water aquifer, and prevents further sea water intrusion. It is important to note that PWM Phase 1 has not yet demonstrated the ability to reliably produce and inject 3,500 acre-feet of treated water into the Seaside Basin Aquifer annually. Additionally, the PWM Expansion FSEIR identifies serious concerns/issues from State, Federal, and local agencies that call into question the technical and environmental viability of the PWM Expansion project. |
| What other specific proposals do you support to ensure your community can meet its water demands without increasing the overdraft of the County's groundwater aquifers or violating the SWRCB's Cease and Desist Order regarding taking water from the Carmel River? | I support the PWM Expansion. That would amount to an additional 2250 acre-feet of water. The wastewater for this project is available. This would give the Peninsula 11,700 AFY, estimated to be sufficient for 20-30 years, including for growth for low-cost housing and lots of record, growth similar to what occurred here for the 10 years before the moratorium was established. While the PWM Phase I project will eliminate excess withdrawals from the river by Dec. 2021, adding the Expansion will be sufficient to remove the CDO. When we need more water down the road, I expect the desal technology will have evolved significantly enough that we might choose to develop a small open-ocean desal plant without the environmental impacts that Cal Am's desal proposal threatens. Another thing I've been interested in exploring is to find out what % of homes served by MPWMD have flow restriction devices. I've heard that this is not ubiquitous in all homes or businesses served by MPWMD. If that is true, conversions might lead to a significant water savings and provide good job opportunities. |
A desalination plant is the only way to meet the existing and long term water demand for the Carmel Valley and Monterey Peninsula communities. A desalination plant would enable the SWRCB to lift the Cease and Desist Order on the Carmel River and expand the ground water injection program to reverse the overdraft condition of the County's groundwater aquifers. |
| Did you support Measure J, which requires that the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) adopt a policy of public ownership of the water system and, if feasible, buy the water system from Cal-Am? | Yes | No |
| The MPWMD has deemed the public takeover of Cal-Am feasible. Do you agree or disagree? If you disagree, why? | Measure J required that a takeover be "… financially feasible and in the public interest." The study found that it was feasible, that in fact "significant revenue savings could be achieved under the MPWMD scenarios" that were evaluated by the study team. The public interest aspect would have to wait for the process to proceed through the courts. As far as the report goes, it seems a very thorough and conservative approach to estimating the cost of services under a public ownership vs under Cal Am. I am definitely interested in the possibility that we could transition to public water here on the Peninsula. It will all depend on what kind of a deal we could get. Public water has a lot of positives - 87% of the country gets their water from publicly owned and operated systems, and that water is about 58% less expensive than corporately supplied water. Communities care about their local services, and the object of corporations is to make money for their stockholders. That's simply capitalism." | I disagree with the premise of the question. As the current Division 5 Director on the MPWMD, the MPWMD has only completed a preliminary "financial" feasibility analysis. That preliminary analysis indicates that the potential cost for acquiring the Cal Am assets to be approximately $530 million, as a minimum. It should be noted that the Measure J/ Public Water Now groups sold the voters on a Cal Am acquisition cost of about $245 million during their Measure J campaign. The MPWMD has additional consultant work ongoing that is evaluating the technical, management, and operations capabilities of the MPWMD to pursue a "takeover" of Cal Am. When that work is completed and reviewed, the MPWMD Board will make a decision whether pursuing a Cal Am takeover is appropriate. In considering that decision, I will rely upon my 30+ years of experience as a water engineer and my work as the General Manager of a public water utility district. |
Leadership |
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| Amy E Anderson | Gary D. Hoffmann | |
| If you are elected, what will be your top three priorities? | a. Work toward the approval of the Supplemental EIR for the PWM Phase 2 project. b. Make absolutely sure that there are no stumbles in curtailing our illegal water draw from the Carmel River by Dec. 31, 2021. c. Help improve the public perception and understanding of what the MPWMD does and how PWM's recycling project works. There must be a real public buy-in of the roles of these two public agencies to make a potential conversion to public water successful. |
The implementation of a reliable long term water supply project for the communities of Carmel Valley and the Monterey Peninsula so the SWRCB Cease and Desist Order can be lifted. Expanding the groundwater injection project to reverse the over draft condition of the Seaside Basin groundwater aquifer and prevent further sea water intrusion. Expanding the MPWMD water conservation programs to address private wells in the Carmel River Watershed to enhance ecosystem restoration. |
| What water policies would you champion for the community? | There are two things that come to mind. The first is that we must avoid further environmental damage to our threatened aquifers. Careless management and overuse in the past put the Seaside aquifer in danger. That is now being remedied by the scheduled injection of water over 25 years. The second is that a huge amount of water from the Carmel River that flows into the ocean every year. While Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) operates during wet winter months, we might be able to capture some of this "lost water" before it dumps into the ocean and add it to the ASR project. This effort would clearly need to be done in an environmentally safe manner that did no harm to threatened species or the River. |
Expanded financial assistance for low income families to replace older inefficient water appliances (dish / clothes washers) with high efficiency appliances. Establish incentives for residential and commercial property owners to install on-site grey water recycling systems. |
| What accomplishments in your career or public service are you most proud of? | a. 10 years after receiving a BS in Music from UC Berkeley, I returned to college to fulfill science requirements for graduate studies. I entered graduate school in marine biology on a President's Fellowship at UC Santa Barbara and earned a PhD. b. Our five-member team from the League of Women Voters Monterey Peninsula wrote a powerful Voting Rights Resolution. We presented it at the 2009 National LWV conference, where it was adopted. As another example of team work, I was appointed to the President's Commission on the Status of Women at Oregon State University where I was Assistant Professor of Biology. Our committee designed a survey to determine whether female graduate students were being treated the same as male students. The results were revelatory to many in the College of Science. I was gratified to learn that ten years later the survey was still in use. c. I am proud of my work with Chamber Music Monterey Bay, a 54-year old music presenting organization that was languishing in the 1990's. Under my leadership it has become a respected and modern organization that presents world-class artists, commissions new chamber works which premiere in Carmel, and presents community education programs. |
As an water engineer with the State Water Board, I provided technical assistance to the U.S. Justice Department in their negotiation with the City of Los Angeles to stop the discharge of sewage sludge into Santa Monica Bay. Also serving as the State Water Board representative on the Technical Advisory Committee for the City of San Diego's Total Resource Recovery Pilot project which developed state of the art treatment methods for converting municipal sewage into a source of drinking water. As a senior water engineer for the Drinking Water Program at the State Department of Public Health, I managed a a program that funded projects that cleaned up contaminated ground water aquifers throughout California and was Chair of a research committee that evaluated innovative methods and technologies to clean up and protect ground water from chemical contamination. I took over the management of a failing public water utility and put it on a path to provide safe drinking water to the community and implemented fiscal policies to ensure long term financial stability. Serving on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council and leading a sub-committee to develop whale and marine mammal viewing guidelines to minimize wildlife disturbances in Monterey [response ended here because it exceeded the 200 word count limit] |
Background |
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| Amy E Anderson | Gary D. Hoffmann | |
| Occupation | Marine Biologist, retired | Licensed Civil Engineer |
| Years Lived in Area | 25 | 14 |
| Education | BA, Music, UC Berkeley 1970; PhD, Biology, UC Santa Barbara, 1989 | Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from CSU, Sacramento |
| Experience | President, Board of Directors: Chamber Music Monterey Bay. Artistic and Education Director, Chamber Music Monterey Bay (1998 – present) Board of Directors, Public Water Now. (2018-2020) President, Board of Directors: Carmel Views Community Association. (2013-2015) Director & Coach, Monterey County Summer Music Program (1999 – 2009) Panel member, "The Craft of the Visionary: How Artistic Directors Choose Their Projects" presented by the Monterey Museum of Art and Performing Arts Monterey Bay (2015) Democratic Women Monterey County, charter member (2008-present) League of Women Voters Monterey Peninsula (2006-present) League of Women Voters, Committee on Voting Integrity (2008-2009) Assistant Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University (1991-1995) National Science Foundation-sponsored "Women in Science" program, Corvallis, OR (1992-1994) Member "President's Commission on the Status of Women", Oregon State Univ. (1993-1995) Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Colorado, Boulder (1989-1991) American Women in Science, Boulder CO (1989-1991) Research Assistant, Research at hydrothermal vents at 1° North, Alvin submarine research (1985) |
11 years as a Water Resources Control Engineer at the State Water Resources Control Board. 19 years as a Senior Sanitary Engineer at the State Department of Public Health in the Drinking Water Program. 10 months as the General Manager of the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District |