Infrastructure

Ray includes the following key areas in any discussion about infrastructure.

Energy (see the Energy Issues page)
Water (see below)
Transportation
Forest Policy

WATER
In CA6, we need more storage of surface water and more storage in ground water. In spite of drought, we don’t have a water supply problem, we have a water management problem. Ray can find solutions that will make our water supply plentiful for the environment, farms, and residential/business uses.

Good Water Policy
My experience with infrastructure repair comes from my time on the Citrus Heights Water District (CHWD) Board of Directors. The district has been well managed for many years and is not facing any significant infrastructure issues. In fact, we are approaching the end of a 25 year plan to maintain the existing infrastructure.

In the Citrus Heights Water District (CHWD) there is approximately $650 million dollars of water pipe in the ground. If the pipe has a life expectancy of approximately 70 years, that means we need to replace just over $9 million dollars of pipe every year to maintain the system and ensure water is delivered to our customers. To that end, the Citrus Heights Water District (CHWD) Board of Directors put together Project 2030. This is a 50 year plan to maintain the critical infrastructure and ensure that future generations will not face a catastrophic failure of their water delivery system.

California's Failing Infrastructure
There is a list and plan available (downloaded and linked here from ca.gov) called the California Five-Year Infrastructure Plan that is a very detailed and fails to address the most important, immediate, and critical issues facing the state.

On page 23:
“Historically, due to budget constraints and other fiscal challenges, the state has not consistently funded either the cost of maintaining its new capital investments or the deferred maintenance on existing infrastructure. Although billions of dollars have been invested in the construction of new state facilities over the past decade, permanent funds have not been made available to maintain existing facilities. The reported statewide deferred maintenance need is $84.2 billion, as shown in the Identified Statewide Deferred Maintenance figure Since 2015, approximately $4.1 billion ($3.2 billion General Fund, $872 million Proposition 98 General Fund, $29 million Proposition 68 bond funds, and $18 million Motor Vehicle Account) has been allocated to address the most critical statewide deferred maintenance projects. The Administration continues its commitment to addressing infrastructure deficiencies by allocating one-time resources of $409.4 million ($300.7 million General Fund and $108.7 million Proposition 98 General Fund) in the Budget to statewide deferred maintenance needs.”

This legislature and administration think that $4.1 billion spent over 7 years (roughly $586 Million Dollars per year) is sufficient while $20 Billion is going to the projects listed in the Five Year Plan. They are wrong. $586,000,000 is only 0.69% of what is needed for deferred maintenance. At the proposed rate of repair, it will take somewhere around 150 years to complete the projects. Of course, that doesn’t consider that some repairs will need to be completed sooner because of dam, bridge, or road failures requiring immediate attention at a much higher cost. Examples of costly repairs after system failures are the Oroville Dam failure in February of 2017 am the flooding of Pauley Pavilion at UCLA in July of 2014. How many events like these will it take before the state and federal government leaders take infrastructure maintenance and repair seriously?

The Importance of Understanding Big Numbers
Many people have a difficult time understanding big numbers. The state legislature, governor’s office, and federal government are willfully blind to the difference between thousands, millions, billions, and trillions because these numbers tell a story that doesn’t suit the narrative that infrastructure is not a problem. I’ve included a presentation called "12 Zeros 2022". It takes a bit of time to go through, but to appreciate the magnitude of the problem it is critical to understand how big numbers impact the real cost and timing of deferred maintenance of our infrastructure.

TRANSPORTATION
Ray believes transportation is key to supporting Americans in their jobs and day-to-day lives. Supporting programs to build and maintain roads, rails, airports, and public transit is essential to keep Americans moving!

FOREST POLICY
Good Forest Policy should help prevent wildfires and landslides. We must maintain our forests to help preserve the landscape for future generations and keep our communities safe. Wildfires and landslides have a significant impact on the environment and we need to do what we can to prevent these impacts.

Ray Riehle, candidate for US Congress, Riehle for Congress 2024, Congressional district 6 CA

Ray RiehleReally Great Leadership, Experience and Values Matter!

Ray Riehle
Really Great Leadership, Experience and Values Matter!