Larry Bragman: Protecting Marin County's Watershed

On November 4, West Marin residents hit the polls and elected Larry Bragman, the Vice Mayor of Fairfax, as their representative on the Marin Municipal Water District Board. Our class was lucky enough to interview him a week previously. Bragman’s campaign platform is rooted in updating fire policy, making Marin more pesticide-free, conserving water, and preventing the construction of a huge new water pipeline across the Richmond Bridge.

One of his major goals is to create a “watershed economy here in Marin,” so that our water needs are locally sourced. This has the added benefits of being “less energy intensive,” and Bragman also claims that if we keep our water local, “We will know the quality of the water that we’re getting.”

The water pipeline project would cost about $45 million dollars to build and even more to actually pump. He believes that although the Drought Resilience and Operations Committee supports the pipeline’s construction as a last resort solution for a horrible drought, Marin County might “draw the short straw in terms of actually getting water.” Bragman says that the new pipeline would be “unreliable” because that water source is already very “oversubscribed.” Furthermore, we really don’t need an additional water source because we could all live off of the water stored in our watershed and the water we get from the Russian River for “two years without a drop of rain.” If we were to instead invest that $45 million locally, Bragman argues that we would produce more water at a lower marginal cost.

Another idea of his is to start (if necessary) pumping groundwater locally. There is a large volume of water stored underground near Bon Tempe lake that could be a potential site. Furthermore, he says that during years when we are actually dumping water from the reservoirs, we can simply pump the surplus back into the ground to restore that environment. Groundwater also eliminates waste because there is no evaporation underground like there is in reservoirs.

In addition, Marin needs to take a more radical stand on conservation. Santa Rosa, for example, has had a “cash for grass” incentive in play for years, in which the local government actually pays private customers to switch from grass lawns to artificial turf, saving 18 gallons per square foot per year of water. Bragman also suggests that we should replace all of the plumbing fixtures in the district with higher efficiency ones, and make their replacement a recommendation, if not a requirement, before a home can go on the market.

His bottom line is that we need to “get ahead of the drought” through conservation with a more urgent approach. Bragman thinks that the best way forward is to focus on the smaller things that all add up to higher efficiency. He maintains that “There is no silver bullet, but we have a suite of no-regret options that we should be pursuing here.” If we prioritize our water productivity as Bragman suggests, “We could be water-secure for the next 20-30 years.”

For more information on Bragman’s policies, visit his web site: http://www.larrybragman.org/ 


Makena Schwinn, Earthscope Media Intern, 10/7/14