Candidate Q&A: Jan Shriner for Marina Coast Water District.

As part of the 2022 election season, the Weekly asked candidates for several offices to answer questions about some of the issues by email. For the Marina Coast Water District board of directors, there are three seats up for election this year, with four candidates: incumbents Gail Morton and Jan Shriner, and challengers Brad Imamura and Roland Soltesz.

Both incumbents responded to the Weekly's questions; Imamura and Soltesz did not. Shriner's responses are below.

What are the biggest issues facing Marina Coast Water District in the next four years, and why are you the best candidate to address them?

How often do you currently attend MCWD board meetings? Do you think the current board is effective?

I rarely miss a Board or Committee meeting.

This is the strongest group of elected officials I have ever seen. The Board is highly effective, diverse in educational and experiential backgrounds, intelligent, thoughtful, and each keeps his or her own ego in check as we collaboratively seek solutions.

Cal Am has resubmitted its application for a desalination plant in Marina. Would you be able or willing to help broker a dialogue between Cal Am and the city? Are there specific environmental justice concessions that you believe should be made?

I thought that too, but no there was no “resubmitted” application. Someone pressured Jack Ainsworth to use executive privilege to override the staff and commission on the application submitted almost two years ago.

Cal Am and the city? I have spoken with Chris Cook and suggested that if the project could be relocated to the city of Monterey, or in the Cal Am service area, a long pipe to the outfall is possible. There are several cities involved but I will guess that you mean Marina and they are capable and have history of their own dialogue with Cal Am. Our community has spent millions trying to maintain the integrity of our system while under attack by those with an illegal take of public water resources for profit.

Social justice concessions are primarily to take responsibility for their own modular desal projects and keep the projects within their own area. Don’t tell our community that people in wealthier, more homogeneous demographic areas simply “won’t allow” this industrial facility to be placed where they need it so our middle class, diverse community gets another facility shoved into our landscape. “Won’t allow” are the words of [Cal Am President] Rob MacLean in the Marina City Council meeting regarding the “test” slant well that is now a proposed production well for MPWSP.

Do you believe Marina Coast Water District’s current water supply is sustainable?

Yes, with careful planning and helpful grants, the District is located in guardian position and shouldering stewardship carefully.

What should Marina Coast Water District do about its long-term water supply? Is desalination an option?

As the State Water Resources Control Board has stated, prioritize recycled water, maximize use of storm water/rainwater harvest and conservation, and then as later choice or last choice use desalination in small, modular projects carefully and thoughtfully. California State Democratic Party Platform 2022 is similarly prioritizing water sources, desal projects last.

Marina Coast has ideas for keeping cost of water down. Several unexplored options exist that are less expensive than MPWSP when priced at volume of water projected for cost of operation and construction. We need to calm the Cal Am voice and amplify the voices of those who know publicly owned, successful water projects. Amplify [Marina Coast Water District General Manager] Rem Scherzinger for example, please. Rem will speak for MCWD at the Monterey County Board of Supervisors [at a regional water forum on Sept. 20], I will be there.

Do you believe Marina Coast Water District is sufficiently taking steps to protect the Salinas Valley groundwater basin from seawater intrusion, one of the goals in the district’s five-year strategic plan? How will you know if the district is succeeding at that goal?

Yes, and one step is to prevent proposed take of groundwater by the MPWSP in currently proposed location. The MCWD GSA has been fortunate to get grant funding for the planning process. MCWD staff are working well with SVB GSA as hydro geologists are telling us, water runs downhill. We can’t balance the sub basin without cooperating agreements with the adjacent sub basins. I have been reaching out to Salinas candidates for mayor and council. The challengers for Salinas city leadership are listening. Cal Water and pumping around the city of Salinas has created a massive cone of depression.

Aerial Electro Magnetic Surveys, MCWD was the first to use the imaging method to look at conductivity of groundwater down to 900 feet below the surface of the ground. The State of California has adopted the method for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act monitoring. We will be able to read the reports and listen to the scientists for updates for our Groundwater Sustainability Agency.

Do you believe the MCWD Groundwater Sustainability Agency is effective? How is its relationship with the Salinas Valley Basin GSA?

Yes; the relationship is good. I think I lumped these questions together above.

If elected, how will you be a water solutions leader for the region?

Through deep listening, leave ego at door approach, build political will toward publicly owned water and wastewater systems, study research reports and financial cost/benefit analytics, and visualize for the long haul to at least 2100.

By learning to rephrase the complications of profit driven conversation to science-based water sustainability policy decision making.