What's the Sierra Club California Water Committee and Why Do We Need It?

The Sierra Club California Water Committee is an issue committee that reports to the California Conservation Committee, the organization that sets Sierra Club's environmental policy for the State of California. Thus the State Water Committee is the main group responsible for defining the Sierra Club's water policies for California.

 

The Water Committee works to protect California’s lakes, streams, rivers, and all the lives that depend on them. It advocates for restoring the Bay Delta ecosystem, promoting water justice for under-resourced communities, and creating a sustainable water future that assures supplies for California’s families, farms, industries, and wildlife. We strenuously promote water conservation and advocate for the beneficial uses of said conserved waters.

 

The Sierra Club is a democratic, grass-roots, volunteer-driven organization, we speak with one voice. As part of the Sierra Club, the Water Committee is a way for people concerned with water justice, interested in protecting our rivers and wetlands, wanting to know more about the effects of water markets on water prices and the environment, worried about the impacts of climate change on our water supply, wondering what the effect of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act will be, and more, to have an impact on California's legislation and elected officials. As part of the oldest and largest democratic environmental organization in the U.S., we provide a unique opportunity for citizen scientists to make their voices heard at the California State level.

 

We write policy papers that help our staff in Sacramento talk with legislators. We send suggestions about implementing policy to the Governor's staff.  We attend meetings of state, regional, and local Water Boards to speak up for the policies we've developed. We support candidates for local, state, and regional water boards. We have a web page and a twitter account. 

 

Does your local Chapter work on water issues? Do you have a local water committee within your chapter? Each Chapter of Sierra Club California should have representation at the state level, we would love to have you if you are a Sierra Club member and have a serious interest in water policy. We meet monthly.

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Charlotte Allen, Co-Chair c.allen@comcast.net
Mother Lode Chapter
Charming Evelyn, Co-Chair bcharmz@aol.com
Angeles Chapter