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What is the Water Board?

The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water Board (HBMWB) serves the greater Humboldt Bay area - including Eureka, Arcata, Blue Lake, McKinleyville Cutten, Fairhaven, Fieldbrook and Manila. The population served totals about 65,000 people.

The Water Board is responsible for providing our communities with clean drinking water and maintaining the health of our water sources (Ruth Lake and the Mad River).

The Water Board also provides water to local industries that process the water for their own use. The Water Board has the power to decide who they will sell water to, which must be balanced by their responsibility to protect our water supply for the future.

Last year the Water Board considered a proposal to ship our water to San Diego in large "bags" pulled by massive tugboats. Ric Davidge, the President of the corporation proposing the idea, was pushing the board to sign a "Letter of Intent" to study the proposal. Under the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA), such a letter can obligate a community to carry out a proposal - even if it later decides that the project isn't in it's best interest.

Public response and anger at the proposal has kept it on the "back burner, " however the current Board members were largely unaware of how NAFTA and other trade agreements could impact community control over our water - forever.

Times have changed in recent years. Multinational corporations from outside our community are set on getting a part of Northern California's abundant water. It is imperative that those who serve on our Water Board understand the implications of international law so that we can ensure local control over our water.

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