A water reform planning measure that could lead to the draining of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park has qualified for the November ballot in San Francisco.
The measure qualified for the ballot after the campaign submitted 15,836 signatures of San Francisco residents in support of the initiative to the city’s Department of Elections. Proponents needed to gather at least 9,702 valid signatures.
If passed in November, the Water Conservation and Yosemite Restoration Initiative measure would require the city to develop a plan to increase local water supplies, recycle more water and reverse environmental damage caused by the current water system over the last century.
The measure would require San Francisco to create a water conservation task force, which would present a plan to voters for greater water conservation and the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The plan would then have to be approved by voters in 2016.
Nearly every local politician has come out against the initiative, including Mayor Ed Lee, all 11 members of the Board of Supervisors and Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News
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