PROP. 50 COULD HELP REGION CLEAN UP WATER LOCAL SUPPLIER MAY ENDORSE BOND.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A $3.44 billion bond measure to buy costal lands and improve water quality on November's ballot could provide local officials with the funds to rid the Santa Clarita Valley's water supply of toxic chemicals.

If approved, Proposition 50 would boost conservation, secure water facilities against terrorist attacks, and fund the purchase of wetlands and other sensitive areas throughout California, proponents said.

``Potentially, it is a pot of money that could solve some of the problems in the Santa Clarita Valley,'' said Mary Lou Cotton, the assistant to the general manager of the Castaic Lake Water Agency.

The CLWA Board of Directors began reviewing the measure last week, and may decide to endorse Proposition 50 at its next meeting, Cotton said.

``There's some question of how much money there is for water, versus how much there is for purchases of coastal land,'' Cotton said.

The bond would also provide money for water recycling and conservation measures, two other programs that the water agency plans to focus on during the next several years.

The initiative will be the third statewide water-related bond since 1996. Both previous measures were approved by voters.

While proponents of the measure contend it will help avert a looming water crisis in California, critics counter that it provides no money for the actual construction of dams and reservoirs and does nothing to improve the state's long-range water supply.

``This measure is a boondoggle that will raise taxes and lacks specifics,'' said Ted Costa, the chief executive officer of the People's Advocate, a taxpayer organization.

Money for studies of new reservoirs and storage facilities are included in the measure, according to spokeswoman Fiona J. Hutton.

Opponents of the measure add that its $6.9 billion cost over 30 years is foolish considering the precarious financial state of California, which is facing a $23.6 billion budget deficit.

Local officials have been struggling since 1997 to rid Santa Clarita's water supply of perchlorate, a byproduct of rocket fuel that has been shown to cause thyroid disorders.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Castaic Lake Water Agency agreed to use money obtained by U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon to begin studying the best way to clean up the pollution, which is thought to have spread to the Saugus Aquifer.

The Santa Clarita Valley has traditionally relied on the Saugus Aquifer during droughts.

The cost of the total cleanup could be as much as $35 million, according to estimates complied by CLWA engineers.

In addition, a study released earlier this month by the county Department of Public Works found that it would cost $315 million to remove chromium 6, arsenic and other pollutants from county-owned water wells in the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys.

This week, the Board of Supervisors directed the county staff to look for state and federal funding for the cleanup, and Proposition 50 could also help meet that need, county officials said.