The Water Conference on April 18th was a feast of relevant, eye-opening and urgent information about water in California. It was wonderful to collaborate with Mount Diablo UU and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee on an event which brought so many UUs from around the state to listen and learn from a remarkable array of presenters which included:
Paul Schwartz, National Policy Director, Clean Water Action
Mindy McIntyre, Water Program Manager, Planning and Conservation League
Marc Franco, Headman Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Barbara Hennigan, Executive Director, Butte-Sutter Basin Area Groundwater Users
Debbie Davis, Legislative Analyst, Environmental Justice Coalition For Water
Patricia Jones, PhD, JD, Program Manager for Environmental Justice, UU Service Committee
Susana de Anda, Co-Director, Community Water Center
Lynn Plambeck, Board Member, Public Officials for Water and Environmental Justice
Andy Bell, District Engineer and Manager of Planning and Engineering, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District
Many of us came away with a new appreciation for how water reveals an interdependence that reaches deeper than community and state boundaries but links us globally as well. The day culminated in a panel discussion of the Human Right to Water and ended with a healing ritual around water and its effect of blessing.
