Water & Power: A California Heist: Film Screening

The Santa Ynez Valley Community Action Alliance is co-sponsoring, with Food & Water Watch, a film screening of the National Geographic documentary “Water & Power: A California Heist”. Following the film will be remarks and opportunity to ask questions with special guest Conner Everts. This program will be held on Thursday, May 24 at Standing Sun Winery, 92 Second Street in Buellton. Doors open at 6PM and the film will begin at 7PM. Food and wine will be available for purchase.

This documentary film uncovers the story of how a handful of water barons gained control of our state’s most precious resource, while drought and a groundwater crisis left local homeowners with dry wells. From a 1990s backroom rewrite of the State Water Project through a breaking investigation into illicit transfers of groundwater, this film peels back the layers on a complex world most of us know nothing about and would never question unless our taps ran dry. Supplying half of our nation’s produce, California is the world’s fifth largest food supplier. With our breadbasket at stake, Americans and the world are waking up to a stark reality — water is the next commodity, and it is rapidly growing more valuable.

Conner Everts is executive director of the Southern California Watershed Alliance (SCWA) and co-chair of the Desal Response Group. He is chair of Public Officials for Water and Environmental Reform (POWER), and was elected to the Casitas Municipal Water District. Everts also served as president of the Ojai Basin Management Ground Water Agency and on numerous statewide task forces and committees. He feels that his most important work is as an elder adviser to the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water.

Also joining us to shed light locally on water challenges will be Alena Simon, Santa Barbara County organizer for Food & Water Watch.

This free film screening is open to all and part of the Santa Ynez Valley Community Action Alliance’s One Community Project, and made possible, in part, through funding from the Santa Barbara Gives! project.