Surely it makes perfect sense to build huge tunnels to siphon water away from that useless California Delta to agribusiness and oil in the Central Valley and then onto Los Angeles, and then raise property taxes in L.A. to pay for this shambling $50 billion dollar behemoth. Oh, but wait, L.A. won’t actually get new water and probably doesn’t need it anyway.
Sensing growing public concern about the enormous costs of the tunnels, Met is now considering raising property taxes. In a blatantly backdoor and undemocratic move, the Met board of directors will consider sticking Southern Californians with higher property taxes to pay for their tunnel dream. A study by EcoNorthwest, an independent economic analysis firm, illustrated that building and operating the tunnels would raise water bills in LA by an additional $9 to $16 per month for the next 40 years.
Combined, that totals $1.6 to $5 billion of ratepayer money for a construction project 350 miles away. Now Met wants to shift some of those costs onto the homeowners.
A crucial vote is today.