Susan Kirsch, Director
POB 1703, Mill Valley, CA 94942
CatalystsCA.org     415-686-4375

June 11, 2021

To:	Joaquin Esquivel, Chair, State Water Resources Board (info@waterboards.ca.gov)
       	Dorene D’Adamo, Vice Chair, State Water Resources Board (info@waterboards.ca.gov)

Re:  	Water and Housing During the Statewide Drought
Many thanks for all you do chairing the State Water Resources Board, especially during the State’s drought crises.
Catalysts and other like-minded groups have growing concern over the State Assembly and Senate’s annual flurry of housing bills. Many bills are geared to build more housing, but ignore the basic question, “Where’s the water going to come from?” 
At the regional level, Regional Housing Needs Assessment /Allocation (RHNA) numbers are skyrocketing. For example, in Marin County they increase by 1,700% from the previous eight-year cycle.  Similar increases are mandated throughout the state using a methodology that led to double counting according to experts at The Embarcadero Institute. With inflated numbers, the San Francisco Bay Area would be required to add 441,000 new housing units before 2030. The Los Angeles quota is over a million.  
We ask the State Resources Board to take a more active role in guiding housing policy based on real-world constraints like water and wastewater. For example, we urge you to meet with the authors of housing legislation, submit position letters re: proposed housing policy, meet with elected officials and community leaders concerned about water safety and supply and initiate public meetings to address whether an increase in housing can co-exist in a state in the middle of drought, with historic lows in all reservoirs including the Colorado River.
Please call on us if we can be of assistance.
Many thanks for your time,

Susan Kirsch, Director
Catalysts for Local Control

Cc:  Senator Mike McGuire
Cc:  Assemblyman Marc Levine